David de Gea thinks Fred 'deserved' his goal in Manchester United's win against Barcelona because of his team mentality.
Although Fred was a regular starter under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim manager Ralf Rangnick, his minutes on the pitch have been reduced since Erik ten Hag's appointment, which has seen him make just nine Premier League starts.
However, the Brazilian has forced himself into the starting team in recent weeks and he started both legs against Barcelona, which were played at Camp Nou and Old Trafford across the last week, in the Europa League playoff round.
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Fred earned praise for his performance against Barcelona in Spain and he was instrumental again in the reverse fixture. The 29-year-old scored the equalising goal in the Reds' 2-1 victory on Thursday and De Gea was delighted for him to get on the scoresheet.
After the game, De Gea was asked about Fred and he lauded the player for his team mentality and work rate.
"I think even in the first half we deserved to be 1-0 up," De Gea told MUTV. "We had a couple of good chances but with the crowd, the players, the atmosphere, everything was there to win the game and as soon as we equalised I knew we'd win.
"We did it, so the feeling is great. Everyone is ready to play and those who come on from the bench did a great job. It's so good, the atmosphere is great in the dressing room. The atmosphere at Old Trafford was the best this season.
"Since the warm-up, it was electric and this is why we score two goals in the second half - it was great. I think they [Antony and Fred] are both playing really well. Antony was out a couple of weeks and coming back and scoring is great for the team.
"And Fred always deserves the good things that happen to him because he always works hard for the team, even when he's not playing he's always ready, giving his best and he deserves [that goal]."
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