Have Manchester United duo been the key to success this season?
By Akash Dutta
Manchester United have had a tough time finding the back of the net recently. But it is undeniable that this team is incredibly difficult to beat as well, for which the midfield duo of Fred and Scott McTominay deserve a lot of credit. This was visible in their performance against Manchester City a week ago.
After a series of goalless draws, the Red Devils managed to put in an incredible performance and end City’s winning streak of 21 games, securing a 2-0 win away at Etihad Stadium.
Going into the match, not many expected United to come out as the victors, as Guardiola’s side looked to be in much better form and the better side overall. But as we have seen so many times before, Solskjaer’s side managed to spring a surprise and come out with all three points.
While the plaudits might have been taken by Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw for their goals, Paul Scholes believes that the midfield duo of Fred and Scott McTominay deserves a lot of credit.
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Scholes praises Manchester United duo
As reported by Manchester Evening News, Scholes praised the midfield duo following their 2-0 win over Manchester City, in what was arguably the team’s best performance of the season:
"“Fred and McTominay won the ball and managed to break as well. It worked perfectly. City’s best players are obviously De Bruyne and Gundogan, so if you stop them you go a long way to stopping City. You have to say they didn’t really have an influence on the game.“They knew they had to keep compact, keep the middle area tight and the plan worked perfectly.”"
It is undeniable that over the past several months, we have seen a transformation in this team. Earlier, they were a freely scoring team who were suspect at the back as well.
But now, they seem to be a team that just keeps things tight in defence and does not allow teams to score against them easily. Of course, this has resulted in their attacking output suffering a bit but ultimately, wins are what count at the end of the day.
The duo of Fred and McTominay deserve a lot of credit for this turnaround when it comes to the defensive side of things as they sit infront of the backline and provide brilliant protection.