United Briefing: Reds so happy for Fred

Fred was on hand inside the six-yard box to pounce on the rebound after Hugo Lloris saved Edinson Cavani’s shot, levelling the game at 1-1 after a contentiously disallowed goal in the first half had seen the Reds trailing at the break.

From then on, United were on top and Cavani, along with substitute Mason Greenwood, added their names to the scoresheet for a fine 3-1 victory.

The goal was Fred’s first of the season and is just his second-ever in the Premier League, having found the net against Wolves in September 2018. He also scored twice in the Europa League win over Club Brugge last year.

Reacting to his ally in the centre of the park getting back among the goals, McTominay couldn’t hide his delight.

Speaking to MUTV, he said: “Top, so happy for him. It’s what happens when he gets in the box, you know. I said that to him at the end, ‘get in the box Fred!’.

“All the boys were really, really good today. I thought Paul Pogba was outstanding, Mason when he came on made a real difference, Edi, I can speak highly enough of the majority, well, all the players to be fair.”

Meanwhile in his post-match press conference, manager Solskjaer shed light on why the hard work should start paying off in front of goal for the South American midfielder.

“I’m so happy for him," said the manager.

“He keeps practising, we had a good session yesterday. Arriving from a little bit deeper, maybe not striking it from 25 yards with his right foot (!), but getting in the box and in the areas where you can use your left foot and it was great movement from Edinson, good play, but he’s there and I’m so pleased for him.

“He gives us everything, every game, Fred, and he’s rewarded with a very important goal for us.”

We will continue to look back at the marvellous away win at Tottenham, including regular features like Match Quiz and Tunnel Insider.

We would also like to wish defender Eric Bailly a happy 27th birthday and it is the anniversary of our first-ever League Cup triumph in 1992, when Brian McClair scored the only goal of the game against Nottingham Forest.

Our latest UTD Podcast is released and stars a very special guest in Mark Hughes, who played in that match at Wembley.

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?

The Reds were in top form to win in the capital again and extend our unbeaten away run this season. Ole revealed before the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that Daniel James was missing due to injury but his team put on a superb second-half show to take the points.

The victory moved United to within 11 points of leaders Manchester City, who were beaten at home by 10-man Leeds United on Saturday, with a game in hand. Leicester City are a further seven points adrift in third following their 3-2 loss to West Ham United, who moved into the top four as a result.