Analyzing Fred - The 5 positives from the Manchester United new boy's pre-season

Fred joined Manchester United from Shakhtar Donetsk for £47m, ahead of the 2018/19 season and United fans were looking forward to seeing him in action with the Brazil team at the FIFA World Cup 2018. He had scored 15 goals in 155 appearances for the Ukrainian club, whom he had joined from Internacional in 2013. During his time at Shakhtar, he had won 3 league titles, 3 Ukrainian Cups and 4 Ukrainian Super Cups. There were enough reasons for Manchester United fans to be excited, but sadly, Fred picked up an injury during a training session in the world cup and did not feature for Brazil in the tournament.

As such, the pre-season gave United fans another opportunity to watch their new signing in action. While playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, Fred was a livewire on the field – a skilful player, who had an eye for spectacular goals, especially long rangers. He was not a prolific goal scorer by any means, but he had a cracking left foot and hit his long rangers with power and precision; he was a decent finisher.

He also liked to set up people, playing cute small passes as well as brilliant through balls to send the striker free on goal. He was also very efficient in initiating counter attacks, which is because he is a quick thinker, someone who does not waste time on making decisions, but instead makes efficient decisions within a split second. He also used his skills to open up defenses as he is blessed with quick feet and his first touch is exotic.

During his first outing as a United player, Fred spent the entire 20 minutes he had in damage limitation against Liverpool and as such, not many aspects of his game could be observed. But Mourinho could see flashes of brilliance in those 20 minutes and he also saw a man who was ready for the big stage and as such, Fred got his first start as a Manchester United player in the last pre-season game in the United States, against Real Madrid. Fred performed admirably as United won the game 2-1 and there were 5 aspects of his performance from the game which should excite United fans

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#5 Strength

Fred

was not brushed

aside

the ball easily

Fred displayed good strength on the ball and kept his composure even under intense pressure from the Real midfielders. His skills certainly came in handy but Fred showed that he cannot be brushed aside easily from the ball. He did not give possession away cheaply either and showed awareness of opposition players and his teammates as he kept the ball moving even at the tightest spaces.

He attempted a few tackles as well and showed courage and determination in his pressing on the ball when not in possession. In fact, he kept hounding the opposition players whenever United lost the ball. His strength on the ball should free Pogba a bit and right now, United fans must be desperate to see those two in action.

#4 Skills

Fred showcased his ball playing skills against Real Madrid

Fred is a ball player, as was evident during his time at Shakhtar and in the game against Real, he did get a few chances to showcase his skills. He has a beautiful turn in him, which sends his markers the other way. In fact, quite a few times on the game, the player pressing him had no clue to which direction Fred would move and he often left his marker behind. His ball control looked good as he found his way out of tight spaces and managed to pass the ball even under intense pressing from the opposition.

He looked very good with his short passes, playing the ball and moving into position to place himself as an option to receive the ball. He also showed a few dribbles, passing the ball from under the nose of his markers and then there was that moment with four Real Madrid players pressing him and he still seemed to find a way around, using his fast feet and quick dribbles to almost get away until he was fouled. With the quality of the first team around him, Fred will only get better.

#3 Decision Making

Fred was intelligent with his passing

One of the most important aspects of a good midfielder is decision making. Choosing the right option, the right pass among the available choices is not easy, but doing that in a matter of seconds, as your marker rushes on to you, is even harder. Fred made simple decisions early on, wasting no time deciding whom to pass to. He seemed to know which pass was required at the particular situation.

As the game went on, his decision making improved to a point that he sometimes took absolutely no time on the ball. This made marking him a tough job. Also, Fred was very alert about his surroundings, he was very observant and always seemed to know where his teammates were and who would require his assistance.

He was not caught ball watching and except that one occasion where he was dispossessed, he was conscious of the opposition around him. His display against Real was full of intelligence and his awareness and his sharp decision-making skills will be vital for United in 2018/19 season.

#2 Attacking Intent

Fred looked to play the ball forward often in the game

In the game against Real Madrid, Fred was always on the lookout to release the strikers with the final ball. Unfortunately for him, apart from Sanchez, he did not have too many options to choose from and not too many targets to aim his balls to. He also looked to initiate counter attacks, taking the ball from the edge of his own box, using his skill and trickery to beat the first man and then looking to spread the play.

But his good work was not restricted to his own half only, because, in the first half, he frequently joined the attack and notably found Shaw with a good ball near the box. Also, more than once in the game, he tried to find Sanchez with lofted balls. The Chilean was crowded out and isolated in attack but Fred's attributes and intentions were clear.

It remains to be seen how he shall combine with Lukaku up ahead, but by the looks of things in the pre-season, the Belgian's pace and raw power will definitely help Fred flourish.

#1 His instant understanding with Pereira

Fred

Fred started the game as a deep-lying central midfielder, partnering Pereira and the addition of another ballplayer midfielder alongside him seemed to affect United's younger Brazilian instantly. Fred immediately built an understanding with Pereira and the fact that communication was not a problem must certainly have helped the two.

Never in the game did they look to be in each other's way. In fact, Fred routinely came to Pereira's aid whenever he was under pressure and always put himself as an option to pass the ball.

They switched places smoothly, working on the same wavelength and the fact that Fred looked so comfortable receiving the ball near his own half eased the pressure off Pereira. Fred also mixed his game well, keeping things simple at times and showing glimpses of trickery when required.

His short passing is perfect, but he also churned up beautiful long balls required. The pre-season certainly showed that Fred is totally at home with Pereira, and he should get better with the composure of Matic around him.