Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Fred names Man Utd star he loves playing alongside; eyes another statement win to break into top four

Fred during a Manchester United warm up

Fred has eyeing another statement win as Manchester United head to Chelsea buoyed by a superb victory and performance against Tottenham that he felt was important on both an individual and collective level.

There have been some fairly wild ups and downs since highly-rated Dutchman Erik ten Hag took charge in the summer but the meticulous manager’s fingerprints have been clear from the outset.

The Red Devils remain a work in progress. However, they showed against Spurs how dangerous they can be when everything comes together.

Fred’s deflected strike and a brilliant Bruno Fernandes effort secured a 2-0 win against a poor Spurs side on the night.

And speaking after the game, Fred said: “A big game. Very important for me, a collective game which was very important for our team.

“When I missed the ball we recovered it quickly so it worked well.

“We did a good pressing and we built a result with all the hard work that we’ve done. It’s a collective result and a very important one.

“A very good performance. Our team worked hard for this during the season.

“We are adapting with the new coach, the pre-season and now starting the season, game after game. So we talk in the changing room, we help each other.

“(Against Spurs) we started very concentrated since the first minute until the end, and we got a big game and result.”

Asked if that was United’s best performance in years, Fred said: “Not sure if it was the best in years but it was a great game and, as I said, I’m very happy with our actions. And I’m happy with my own action, so we need to carry on.

“On Saturday we have a very difficult game against Chelsea and now we have to rest to do a big game again.”

Casemiro a joy to play with

United have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham at home but now comes Saturday evening’s trip to Chelsea, which offers them the chance to supplant Graham Potter’s side in the top-four race.

Fred looks likely to line up alongside fellow Brazilian Casemiro again this weekend after they dominated the Tottenham midfield.

And he added: “I’m very happy playing next to Casemiro. He’s a big player for the Brazilian team, we’ve already played a long time together in that team.

“It’s very important being side by side with him and playing with him improves my football.

“A big player like Casemiro can play there and Scott McTominay is also a big player. They are both very important.

“I can’t say anything about Casemiro – everybody knows his qualities and how important he is for the team, and Scott is also a great player.

“We have big games at this club all of the time; it’s a midfield where we have big players. We have to be good to help the team all the time and this is the most important thing.”

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