Luke Shaw believes Manchester United lacked "passion, desire, hunger and attitude" in an "unacceptable" performance in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Newcastle United.
A brilliant display from the Magpies saw Eddie Howe's men leapfrog the Red Devils into third in the Premier League as goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson condemned them to defeat in their first game since the international break.
Erik ten Hag's side have now failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since February 2020 as they mustered just one shot on target at St James' Park, a tame long-range shot from Antony that Nick Pope comfortably saved.
With this winless three-match run dragging them back into the dogfight for the Champions League places, Shaw felt Sunday's dismal display was a couple of games in the making, declaring Newcastle won the match with their superior mentality rather than their footballing ability.
"[We were] not good enough," Shaw told Sky Sports. "As a team, we have to be honest. I do think Newcastle are a very good side but I don't think they won the game on quality today.
"I think they won it on passion, desire, hunger, attitude. They clearly had that higher motivation, and that [cannot] be possible.
"It's not acceptable and we know that. It was a massive game today and they wanted it more. At Man United, that cannot be possible.
"You need that motivation, you need that passion, hunger, attitude, because it's an extremely tough place to come to, here. If we don't have that, we're going to suffer. It was obvious on the pitch. We didn't create too much, to be honest.
"I think maybe you could say it has been coming. Before the international break, we had dropped levels, and it was clear to see today they were not there."
Shaw's side will look to get back on track on Wednesday, when they host a Brentford side at Old Trafford who are themselves looking for European qualification.
The left-back acknowledged that will be a difficult fixture, saying: "We have three days to pick it back up because Brentford is going to be a tough game.
"We're a team. When we go out on that pitch, we all need to fight for each other. Sometimes, this season, maybe it's not shown like that. I'm sure we'll go through it all again and speak again. We need to realise the problems, and change them quick, because we can still have a very good season."
Postecoglou rues 'painful' collapse after Chelsea fight back against Spurs
Ange Postecoglou was left to rue a "painful" collapse as Tottenham squandered a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 against Chelsea on Sunday.
Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski both profited from Marc Cucurella slips to fire the hosts 2-0 up after just 11 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Jadon Sancho pulled one back, however, with a delightful 17th-minute drive before Tottenham wilted under pressure in the second half.
A pair of Cole Palmer penalties, scored either side of Enzo Fernandez's lashing finish to put Chelsea 3-2 up, proved the undoing for Postecoglou's side.
Spurs, who grabbed a late third through Son Heung-min, suffered a second defeat in the space of three days after a midweek loss to Bournemouth, though Postecoglou believes the performances were contrasting.
"It's a sore one for sure, it's painful," the Tottenham boss told Sky Sports. "We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle.
"We still had some big moments to get a third and finish it off. The second half was a ding-dong for long and then they scored. The two penalties weren't great, we need a bit of discipline in the box.
"It's a key point when you lose a key player in the first 20 minutes, He couldn't continue so it's not ideal.
"We didn't play well in midweek but we did here. They're a top side, you have got to give credit to them. We got distracted in key moments.
"We need to realise we are tough to stop when we do play our football. The two penalties were poor. When you're playing these top teams, the momentum shifts quickly."
Yves Bissouma fouled Moises Caicedo for the first penalty, with Pape Sarr at fault for a challenge on Palmer for the second spot-kick.
Tottenham felt aggrieved Caicedo was still on the pitch, though, as the Chelsea man survived a VAR review for a first-half lunge on Sarr that could have been deemed worthy of a straight red card.
"I haven't seen the replays. I thought a couple of decisions were poor," Postecoglou said of the Caicedo decision. "We have to accept it and move on."
Micky van de Ven and Romero returned for Sunday's clash, though the latter was forced off after just 15 minutes before his centre-back partner came off in the closing stages.
"He felt a bit tight," Postecoglou said of Van de Ven. "He was only meant to play 60 or 70 minutes. Hopefully it's not too bad because you could see the difference.
"I'm hoping Romero isn't too bad. We're thin on numbers and if we're thin in January, we'll be looking to add to the squad because they need some help."
Sunday marked the 11th time that Tottenham lost a Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in the competition's history.
It was also the first time they did so at home in the league since September 2001 against Manchester United in a 5-3 defeat.
Son shared a similar frustration to Postecoglou, though wanted to shoulder the blame for his missed chance at 2-2 when one-on-one with Robert Sanchez.
"It's very disappointing. I don't know what to say at the moment," Son told Sky Sports. "We can't concede goals like this. We can't dive into this situation.
"I can stay here all day talking about the mistakes but I'd rather blame me with the chance and I'd rather take the blame.
"We have got to stick together in such difficult moments, it's very important and it's why we need big support. The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had.
"The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it's time the players also need to step up. We need some big support and big cheering up."
In Postecoglou's 53 Premier League games in charge, Tottenham have both scored and conceded in 36 of them (68%).
Of all managers to oversee 50+ matches in the competition's history, only Ossie Ardiles' games had a higher ratio of seeing both sides score (69% - 37/54).
Chelsea stay perfect as Man Utd thrash rivals Liverpool
Chelsea maintained their perfect run in the Women's Super League with a 4-2 win over Brighton, while Manchester United thrashed Liverpool 4-0.
On a pulsating day of action that saw 28 goals scored across six matches, United got the action started with their demolition of Liverpool, with four different goalscorers on target.
Quick-fire goals from Elisabeth Terland and Leah Galton gave United a comfortable advantage at the break, before Dominique Janssen curled home the Red Devils' third just before the hour-mark, with the win sealed by substitute Melvine Malard nine minutes from time.
It was a routine win for Marc Skinner's side, who have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, though the United boss said there is still room for improvement.
"I thought we were good. When we don't meet our high standards, we face criticism, but when we do play well, and we're dominant, we deserve the accolades," said Skinner.
"It was a pretty even game up until [the first two goals were scored]. The second half was much more comfortable."
Chelsea are still five points clear at the WSL summit after edging a six-goal thriller against Brighton at Kingsmeadow.
Two goals in five minutes from Sjoeke Nusken and Aggie Beever-Jones put the Blues in control, only for Sonia Bompastor's team to have their lead cut in half before the break by Jelena Cankovic.
Chelsea restored their two-goal advantage six minutes after the restart through Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, but the Seagulls responded once more.
Kiko Seike's finish put the Blues' perfect start under threat in the final 20 minutes, but Chelsea sealed the win in second-half stoppage time, with Nusken on target once again.
Bompastor is now unbeaten in her last 31 games across all competitions (W28 L3), and Sunday's win perhaps should have been won by a more marginal scoreline, while Chelsea have matched the Arsenal side of 2018-19 in winning their first nine WSL games of a campaign. Should they beat Leicester City next week, they will be the first team in the competition's history to reel off 10 victories to start a season.
The Blues registered a mammoth 31 shots, though only eight were on target, accumulating an expected goals (xG) total of 4.08 compared to Brighton's 2.19.
Not wanting to be done by their neighbours or their title rivals, Manchester City also scored four as they comfortably dispatched Leicester 4-0, with Khadija Shaw netting twice.
Shaw gave the hosts a second-minute lead when she nodded in Kerstin Casparij's cross, and doubled her tally before the half-hour mark with a powerful header.
Jessica Park added the Citizens' third four minutes after the break, before Mary Fowler concluded the scoring with a fine volley from close range nine minutes later.
And Gareth Taylor's side were worthy of their victory, restricting Leicester to just three shots on Khiara Keating's goal, while also ending the encounter with 71.7% possession.
There was also another big win for Arsenal, with the Gunners earning a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, with Alessia Russo on target for the fourth consecutive WSL match.
Russo's glancing header from Kyra Cooney-Cross' inswinging free-kick put Arsenal ahead, and Beth Mead doubled their advantage.
Substitute Stina Blackstenius netted the Gunners' third before Russo capped off her double in second half stoppage time, having seen an earlier effort ruled out for offside.
It marked yet another win for interim head coach Renee Slegers, who is now unbeaten in her eight games in charge across all competitions since taking over from Jonas Eidevall.
Sunday's highest scoring fixture took place at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, with West Ham coming from two goals down to beat relegation rivals Crystal Palace 5-2.
Mille Gejl and Indiah-Paige Riley put Palace in control inside 11 minutes, before Viviane Asseyi, Seraina Piubel and Manuela Pavi hit back for the Hammers before the break.
Anouk Denton put West Ham further in front with a fine finish, before Hammers captain Katrina Gorry grabbed an injury-time fifth.
The defeat means Palace have gone 1-0 up in four of their last five league games, but failed to win any of them. No other team has dropped more points from winning positions this term than the Eagles (10).
Tottenham beat Everton 2-1 thanks to Bethany England's brace.
England scored either side of Sara Holmgaard's 40th minute equaliser, sealing Spurs' third win of the campaign, all of which have come at home.
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea: Palmer penalty double seals comeback for title-chasing Blues
Cole Palmer's penalty double completed a remarkable 4-3 victory over Tottenham as Chelsea cut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
Chelsea thumped nine-man Spurs 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last term but required an almighty comeback as Marc Cucurella's errors gifted the hosts an early 2-0 lead on Sunday.
Dejan Kulusevski's pinpoint finish followed Dominic Solanke's well-taken opener at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a delightful finish with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Palmer levelled just past the hour with his first penalty after Yves Bissouma needlessly felled the marauding Moises Caicedo, who had earlier survived a VAR check for a lunging tackle on Pape Sarr in the first half.
The Chelsea talisman won another spot-kick after Sarr's mindless push, with Palmer coolly drinking beyond Fraser Forster, after Enzo Fernandez had blasted the Blues ahead with 17 minutes remaining.
Son Heung-min’s stoppage-time strike appeared to tee up a nervy ending for Chelsea, though, as the Spurs winger slotted past Robert Sanchez from substitute James Maddison's cutback pass.
However, Enzo Maresca's side held firm to move two points clear of Arsenal in second and make ground on Liverpool, while Spurs sit 11th after a second defeat in the space of three days.
Data Debrief: Chelsea powered by ice-cold Palmer
It seems there is no doubt when Palmer steps up from 12 yards out he will score, as the Chelsea man converted his 11th and 12th penalties in the Premier League on Sunday.
The former Manchester City man has a perfect record from his 12 penalty attempts, the most any player has taken in the competition without ever missing, surpassing Yaya Toure (11).
Palmer has also been directly involved in 38 Premier League goals in 2024 (25 goals, 13 assists), the outright most in a calendar year by a Chelsea player in the competition.
He reached 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea here; only Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) have ever reached that total in fewer appearances for a club in England's top competition.
Palmer's heroics saw Tottenham lose an 11th Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in Premier League history.
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