Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer showered praise on Brazilian midfielder Fred’s star performance after the red Devils won 2-1 away to rivals Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.
Goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial set up victory for Manchester United with Nicolas Otamendi’s late reply proving only a consolation for the reigning champions.
A fourth league defeat of the season leaves City 14 points behind Jurgen Klopp’s runaway leaders, Liverpool, while United are a further eight points behind Manchester City despite securing successive wins this week.
Fred’s form has improved massively in recent weeks after some strong criticism for much of his United career, and the midfielder shone against champions City, who had initially also reportedly been interested in signing him from Shakhtar Donetsk in last summer transfer window.
The 26-year-old’s display at the Etihad was particularly noteworthy given he was part of an unsavory incident in the second half, in which he was hit by an object thrown from the crowd and appeared to be subjected to alleged racist abuse from the Manchester City supporters.
However, the 46-year-old Solskjaer has admitted that Fred’s performance was worthy of being awarded as Man Of The Match,“[He was] Arguably man of the match today, He took the ball, he’s playing against Kevin De Bruyne, probably the best player in the league and I thought he was excellent. It’s great to see it; the boy deserves it. But when you get a run and keep the team together, Scott [McTominay] and Fred have made a great partnership.”
