On Wednesday night, one of the greatest nights in Manchester United’s history, Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos (“Fred”), the club’s fourth-most expensive signing ever, had his best game for the club he joined last July. Alongside Scott McTominay in central midfield, the two “irregulars” stepped in due to injuries and suspensions, and faced the daunting prospect of taking on the brilliance of Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler, with Marquinhos just behind them. It was a tough test, one the unlikely midfield duo passed with distinction.
Fred stopped Kylian Mbappe, provided a barrier against Angel Di Maria and was one of the first players on the scene when PSG’s players tried to get at and unsettle Marcus Rashford ahead of his tie-winning penalty. “We’ve had a great game,” Fred told ESPN after the match. “We are so happy tonight. We played without the ball all game. We knew it was going to be hard, but we have a knowledge and humility to look for victory.”
Manchester United fans have still not seen the best of Fred who they brought in from Shaktar for about 50 million. The Brazilian started the first game of the season against Leicester but never found his feet under the the management of Jose Mourinho. He had been limited to substiture appearances under Solskjaer but injuries or suspensions to the first choice midfielders gave him a chance to show the United faithful his quality.
Fred has had a difficult first season in England so far, featuring in only 18 games and starting in 13, including the first three matches and two of the past three against Crystal Palace and PSG, the team he had an option of joining only to choose United instead. On the available evidence so far, United fans might find it difficult to believe PSG and Manchester City also wanted him. He played only 81 league minutes of a possible 1,440 after his two starts against Everton and Bournemouth — United won both — and the Palace game last week.
“This was my best moment since I moved to Manchester United,” he said. “I felt had a great game. It’s a long time since I played like this: two games in a row. I’m very happy. I want to continue to play like this, to play games.” The watching football world might have been caught unawares by the outcome, but the Brazilian, who turned 26 on Tuesday, was not.
I wasn’t surprised that we won,” explained the man from Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s sixth biggest city. “All the team played well. I played well. We knew it was going to be hard, but we are Manchester United. PSG knew that whatever happened in the first game, that we are still Manchester United. We have injuries but we are Manchester United. That is our name. Everybody knows us around the world. It was great that we got the win in a place like this.”