Midfielder Fred admitted that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told his players that they were not playing their usual game during the half-time interval of Thursday night's 2-1 win over Barcelona at Old Trafford.
The Reds found themselves 1-0 down at the break following Robert Lewandowski's 18th-minute penalty and had struggled to get a foothold in the game, meaning they were 3-2 down on aggregate. However, they found a route back into the contest just two minutes after half-time when Fred fired in a low shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen from inside the penalty area.
The midfielder's leveller provided United with the injection of confidence that they needed, so much so that they looked the more likely team to score the next goal from that moment onwards. The winner duly arrived with 73 minutes on the clock when half-time substitute Antony curled in a brilliant left-footed effort for his sixth goal of the season and most important in United colours so far.
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United were much-improved after the interval, highlighted by their ability to turn the game on its head, and they limited Barcelona to very few chances throughout the course of the evening. Antony's half-time introduction in place of Wout Weghorst had an undisputed hand in changing the pattern of the game, but Fred hinted that Ten Hag made it clear that they needed to improve their performance levels at the interval.
"He said in the first half that we didn't play like how we [normally] play," Fred told BT Sport. "But in the second half we were much better, we started very well and scored early.
"We had a good talk in half-time with the coach, we changed our minds at half-time and the second half went very well."
Fred, who got the nod to join Casemiro in midfield ahead of Marcel Sabitzer, was excellent in the second half, producing a Man of the Match performance. He was tencasious and energetic throughout the second 45, resulting in the fans singing his name at the full-time whistle.
"It is very good to hear my name from the fans," added the midfielder. "We played a good game we played today so we need to keep it going.
"We have the final on Sunday [vs Newcastle United], we need to rest and now change our minds to go to the final."
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