Luke Shaw dismissed comparisons with Zinedine Zidane - and avoided another potential row with Jose Mourinho after his starring performance for England.
The Manchester United defender provided assists for two of Three Lions’ four goals against Ukraine as they booked their place in the semi-final of Euro 2020.
It made a mockery of Mourinho’s criticism of Shaw’s service at these finals - coming after he set up England’s opening goal by Raheem Sterling in their round-of-16 win against Germany on Tuesday.
But it also means he has provided more assists than even the great Zidane’s record of two in Euros history.
When informed of the landmark, Shaw said: “A very strange stat! A nice one, I think. Obviously Zidane was one of the best midfielders ever and I can’t compare to him, like I’ve said before about different people.
”It’s a nice stat to obviously hear, but the most important thing for me tonight was reaching the semi-final, getting another game at Wembley in front of our own crowd and hopefully making them happy again.”
Euro 2020: Ukraine v England
Shaw hit out at Mourinho last week after hearing his former manager’s criticism of his performance against Czech Republic in the group stages.
But he chose not to add fuel to the fire after the 4-0 win in Rome.
“I think Jose has his opinion,” he said. “He’s obviously working for talkSPORT. It’s freedom of speech and he can say whatever he likes.
“I just keep going, keep my head down, ignore everything and just focus on what’s going on inside the camp.
“My main objective is to help England. No matter what, I’ll give everything for them and I’ll keep on doing that.”
