Mourinho reveals why Luke Shaw was taken off early in Sunderland win

Jose Mourinho admits he replaced Luke Shaw early in Manchester United’s victory over Sunderland because of ‘pressure from the crowd’ on the referee.

The 21-year-old started only his eighth Premier League game of the season as United coasted to a 3-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

Shaw, who has been publicly criticised by Mourinho twice this week, was substituted in the 61st minute despite performing well on United’s left flank.

‘I took Shaw off because of the yellow card and the pressure from the crowd,’ Mourinho told BBC Sport.

‘It was good to protect him but was also good for him to play one hour with a good solid performance and no mistakes, so I’m really pleased for him.’

Goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford sealed victory over David Moyes’ side.

United are now four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, but they do have a game in hand over Pep Guardiola’s men.