Jose Mourinho praises "solid" performance from Luke Shaw

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted to being pleased with the shift put in by full-back Luke Shaw on his return to the starting lineup.

The England international played an hour for the Red Devils in their straightforward 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light after being handed just his eighth league start of the campaign.

Mourinho has criticised Shaw in recent weeks, even claiming after his last outing against Everton that he 'lacked a footballing brain', but the Portuguese was far more pleased with what he saw in the North-East on Sunday afternoon.

"I told him it was a very solid performance," he told Sky Sports News. "He didn't make mistakes, he was confident on the ball and he was focused so easy for me to tell him it was good, solid performance.

"He came off because he had a yellow card and the crowd was putting pressure on the referee. We fear that situation but the performance was quite solid."

Shaw has made 17 competitive appearances for United since Mourinho took charge last summer, 10 of which have come in the top flight.