Brazil drew 0-0 with Argentina in their World Cup qualifying game which saw the hosts Argentina qualify for the World Cup. A surprising statistic at the end of the game was that the highest rated player according to Sofascore was Manchester United’s Fred with a rating of 7.8 according to Sofascore. Considering this match featured the likes of Lionel Messi, di Mario, Fabinho and Lautaro Martinez, Fred being the highest rated player is pretty impressive. Fred, generally has had played well for Brazil unlike his performances at Manchester United where he looks unsure and timid on the pitch.
In Brazil’s 4-2-3-1 formation, Fred has a much more clearly defined role compared to at Manchester United. Fabinho, his partner in Brazil’s double pivot generally plays a much deeper role. Fabinho plays as a deep lying playmaker who is also responsible for protecting the defence. This allows Fred to have a lot more positional freedom, which thereby allows him to show his best playing attributes for his country.
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Fred foi o Destaque SofaScore de Argentina 0-0 Brasil!
🆚 8 desarmes (!)
💪 16/25 duelos ganhos (64%!)
🔄 4/5 dribles certos (80%)
👟 2 chutes (1 no gol e 1 na trave)
✅ 35/42 passes certos (83%)
💯 Nota SofaScore 7.8 pic.twitter.com/aOEBnBewnj— SofaScore Brazil (@SofaScoreBR) November 17, 2021
Stats Translation : Fred for Brazil vs Argentina: 7/8 tackles won | 16/25 duels won | 4/5 dribbles completed | 1 shot hit the woodwork / 83% Pass Completition
This clearly shows that Fred is a much better player for Brazil than for Manchester United. In his role at Manchester United, he is expected to be a defensive midfielder who also controls the game. Where as at Brazil, Fabinho plays that role and Fred plays slightly ahead of him, pressing and tackling the opposition midfield to win the ball back for his side. Also, a free-er role makes it hard for the opposition to press him, so his weakness of controlling the ball under pressure is less exposed.
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Problem for Solskjaer is that nobody currently at Manchester United plays the role Fabinho plays for Brazil so therefore he forced to play Fred in a role which the Brazilian is not good at. But the failure to identify this gap in the squad is not the Brazilian’s fault and United urgently needs to buy a good ball playing defensive midfielder to sort out their midfield problesms.