A remarkable statistic, highlighting the stellar off-ball efforts of Manchester United star Fred, has come to the fore late on Sunday evening.
Brazilian international Fred, of course, took his place front and centre in United’s latest outing, earlier today.
En route to a hard-fought 2-0 downing of Leeds United, the 29-year-old was afforded a rare start in the middle of the park, owing to the absence of compatriot Casemiro.
And, safe to say, Fred went on to make his presence very much felt.
Whilst it was Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho who stole the headlines owing to their respective goalscoring exploits at Elland Road, the Red Devils’ midfield all-rounder proved something of an unsung hero.
This came as Fred worked tirelessly out of possession, to get the visitors back on the ball time and time again.
In fact, as alluded to above, so impressive was the former Shakhtar Donetsk man in west Yorkshire, that his endeavours ultimately culminated in a Premier League benchmark spanning a full two years.
As per statisticians Opta, Fred regained possession on no fewer than eight occasions against Leeds this afternoon.
This marks ‘the most by a player in a single Premier League game for over two years’.
Bruno Fernandes hails his ‘driver’ teammate Fred after Manchester United win
Bruno Fernandes has hailed teammate Fred after Manchester United’s victory over Leeds.
Fred was awarded Sky Sports’ man of the match following the 2-0 victory at Elland Road, although the Manchester United fan vote went to Marcus Rashford.
After arriving back in Manchester, Fred was tasked with driving teammate Bruno Fernandes home.
Fernandes joked that the man of the match award did not excuse Fred from his pre-agreed duties.
Fernandes hails ‘pitbull’ Fred
Fred had a poor game at Old Trafford when Manchester United and Leeds faced off in midweek. He delivered an improved performance in the match at Elland Road, winning six tackles.
Manchester United won the game 2-0, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho scoring the goals.
Fernandes praised Fred as a ‘pitbull’ for his display in a post via Instagram stories.
United needed a big performance from Fred with so many midfield injuries and suspensions. Together with new loan signing Marcel Sabitzer, the duo competed well against Leeds’ all-American midfield of Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams.
Leeds were awkward opponents to face, but lacked a cutting edge, and United were able to take their best and hit them with a sucker punch late in the second half.
Four points from the two games was a fairly disappointing return from two matches against the 17th placed side in the league, but it was an acceptable one at least.
United can go into the Barcelona game in midweek on a high, having come through Sunday’s battle with a hard-earned three points.
SOURCE: 101greatgoals.com, unitedinfocus.com
