Roy Keane has praised Fred for his impact made coming off the bench vs Reading on Saturday night, with the Brazilian scoring with a neat finish from a corner to make the score 3-0.
The midfielder has lost his starting place this season following the arrivals of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, but Saturday night showed how he can still make an impact. His arrival from the bench came on the hour mark, with Eriksen leaving the field following what appeared to be an ankle injury.
Fred entered the midfield alongside compatriot Casemiro, who was having a superb game in the middle of the park providing a platform from which United could launch constant attacks. The duo are good friends and have not had the chance to play together as much as they would have liked this season with Eriksen taking the staring berth alongside the former Real Madrid man and Bruno Fernandes.
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Just a few short minutes after his introduction, Fred wrapped up the scoring from a corner as the Reading were defence caught napping and the former Shakhtar midfielder pounced at the near post to produce a smart finish. His alertness exploited the tiredness of a Royals defence which had performed valiantly during the first hour of the match before Fred's arrival.
Roy Keane summed up the performance during his role as pundit on ITV's coverage, praising the impact of Fred and inisiting that he can be an important player from the bench for United going forward.
"That’s probably what I think is his role - coming off the bench, particularly in games like this when the game is done. Reading fall asleep at a corner, United have looked a bit better on set pieces recently. He just walks in there, he’s obviously got a trick, lovely little finish. Poor from Reading, but lovely little finish." Keane said.
It may be a good time for Fred to find form, with the ankle injury suffered by Christian Eriksen on Saturday night leaving a chance for him to make his mark for Erik ten Hag from the start, at least in the short term.
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