Fred Will Tear Us Apart: Man United midfielder on his starring role against Spurs

Brazilian partnership with Casemiro instrumental in best performance so far under Erik ten Hag

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring the second goal in the 2-0 Premier League win against Tottenham at Old Trafford on October 19, 2022. AFP

Bruno Fernandes scores United's second goal. AFP

Manchester United's Fred celebrates scoring the first. Getty

Fred celebrates after scoring. Getty

Fred celebrates with Antony after scoring. Getty

Fred opens the scoring at Old Trafford. AFP

Tottenham coach Antonio Conte on the touchline. AP

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag shouts instructions. Getty

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes in action with Tottenham's Cristian Romero. Reuters

Tottenham defender Ben Davies fights for the ball with Manchester United's Marcus Rashford. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo during the warm up. AFP

Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring. AP

Manchester United's Fred played a starring role in his side’s 2-0 win against Tottenham on Wednesday. The National spoke to the Brazilian after the game.

How was that for you?

Fred: A big game, very important for me, a collective game which was very important for our team. When I missed the ball we recovered it quickly so it worked well. We did a good pressing and we built a result with all the hard work that we’ve done. It’s a collective result and a very important one.

How is it playing alongside your fellow Brazilian Casemiro?

I’m very happy playing next to Casemiro. He’s a big player for the Brazilian team, we’ve already played a long time together in that team. It’s very important being side by side with him and playing with him improves my football.

How big a difference can Casemiro make in the midfield?

A big player like Casemiro can play there, and Scott McTominay is also a big player. They are both very important. I can’t say anything about Casemiro, everybody knows his qualities and how important he is for the team, and Scott is also a great player. We have big games at this club all of the time; it’s a midfield where we have big players. We have to be good to help the team all the time and this is the most important thing.

From start to finish that looked like the most dominant performance under Erik ten Hag

A very good performance, our team worked hard for this during the season. We are adapting with the new coach, the pre-season and now starting the season, game after game. So we talk in the changing room, we help each other. Tonight we started very concentrated since the first minute until the end, and we got a big game and result.

Were you surprised at how well you played against a very strong Spurs team?

It was not a surprise, they are a great team and the league shows that. They have their way to play but we have ours. At home we are a big team, we have had some excellent results, but we had our work to do and I think we did it well right from the start.

In the last game we couldn’t score, against Newcastle. We tried a lot, we lost some opportunities, we didn’t score. It was similar in the Europa League when we created opportunities and we scored in the end with Scott McTominay.

I felt like we were close to getting a great result and today we finally could score, but it was not like night and day. We’ve been working hard for this all season and tonight it happened. This win was very important to the team.

Was that the best performance in years?

Not sure if it was the best in years but it was a great game and as I said very I’m happy, with our actions. And I’m happy with my own action, so we need to carry on. On Saturday we have a very difficult game against Chelsea and now we have to rest to do a big game again.

How is Antony settling in and what have you made of his appearances?

Antony is a very good player, very young. He arrived and took his place in the team which is difficult. He has big qualities. Today he didn’t score but soon he will get goals again. He's already shown he can score for this team.

What do you think of the fans singing Fred Will Tear Us apart, a song by Joy Division.

Who?

Joy Division!

I don’t know them [laughs]. I’m very happy with the song, with the supporters. I’m just very happy with the team and the supporters. The fans were fantastic, they made a difference.