David de Gea praises Manchester United's unsung hero in dressing room after Barcelona win
manchestereveningnews.co.ukDavid 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. ALSO READ: Man United player ratings as Fred and Antony brilliant 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.
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