Manchester United midfielder Fred has been praised for his performance in the recent 2-1 win over Barcelona in the Europa League.
Following a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp last week, the Red Devils took on Xavi’s side once again at Old Trafford on Thursday evening in the second-leg knockout fixture.
After finding themselves 1-0 down thanks to a penalty scored by Robert Lewandowski, United managed to turn things around with two second-half goals and secure their place in the next stage of the competition.
One figure, in particular, found himself on the end of some significant praise following the victory at Old Trafford.
In a Twitter post after the game writer and producer Sacha Pisani had this to say about Fred’s performance against Barcelona.
He said: “Manchester United terrific all around in that second half – Varane, Martinez in the back. Casemiro. But, Fred was herculean after half-time!
“Scored the goal to get #MUFC back into the contest against Barcelona, and absolutely everywhere on the pitch. #UEL #MUFC.”
With the full 90 minutes under his belt, the midfielder not only scored United’s first goal on the night but also ended up making more tackles (5) than any other player in Erik ten Hag’s side.
He also helped out his defence by making two clearances and one interception, proving how useful he can be at both ends of the pitch.
Landing himself an overall match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, this puts him as United’s joint-second highest rated starting player alongside Casemiro and behind Lisandro Martinez (7.2./10).
Did Fred have a good game against Barcelona?
Yes
No
The Manchester Evening News also took heed of the Brazilian’s endeavours in midweek and backed up what Pisani had to say about Fred’s efforts off the ball in their player ratings article.
They said: “Energetic in pressing and justified his selection with a well-taken equaliser early in the second half and his running eventually overwhelmed Barcelona.”
Taking all of this into account, it’s clear that Fred put in an important display for his side last night and played a vital part in getting them to the next stage of the competition, thus making him worthy of the praise he has since received.