Erik ten Hag has discovered an unlikely Manchester United partnership

Ahead of Thursday night's unforgettable 2-1 win over Barcelona, much of the pre-match conversation centred around who would join forces with Casemiro in central-midfield.

The Brazilian, who has been sensational since joining the club from Real Madrid last August, was a certain starter after concluding his three-match domestic ban against Leicester City four days earlier. In his absence against the Foxes, just as they had against Leeds United twice, Marcel Sabitzer and Fred joined forces in the engine room and each contributed to a professional 3-0 win.

It was Sabitzer's most polished and complete performance in United colours so far, proving classy in possession and robust when the Reds didn't have the ball. Fred, with the exception of his pass to send Marcus Rashford clear to score his second goal of the game, had a tricky time of it, producing one of his trademark up-and-down performances.

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Their respective showings last Sunday meant that Erik ten Hag had a difficult decision to make about who would join forces with Casemiro against Barcelona. Fred had partnered him at the Camp Nou for the first-leg and it did appear risky to ask Sabitzer to play alongside the former Madrid man for the very first time in a game of such significance, meaning it was sensible for Fred to retain his place, even if it was a decision that generated a few social media groans ahead of kick-off.

Nobody, however, was groaning when the full-time whistle was sounded just over three hours later at 9.53pm. Fred, who was uniquely described as performing like a 'mosquito' by Ten Hag in his post-match press conference, was nothing short of