Manchester United have found an unexpected Bruno Fernandes replacement after Tottenham win

Fred's creative streak

The headlines were only ever going to fall the way of one man for Manchester United's opening goal, but Fred was undoubtedly the unsung hero of what was a brilliant strike.

Cristiano Ronaldo's rocket of a finish was the showstopping moment but he had space to exploit thanks to Fred attracting the attention of Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield and then using his heel to flick a deft pass into the path of his centre forward, taking his opposition midfielder out of the game in the process.

Fred has often played in a more advanced role under Ralf Rangnick, where his pressing can be better utilised, but it has also helped to unlock some creativity in his game that had been absent until then.

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That's now four assists and two goals in 15 games under Rangnick and there have been moments of real quality in an attacking sense. Questions persist over the consistency of Fred's passing as much as the quality, but in a role as No 8 he is showing he has an eye for the more creative aspects of midfield play.

On a day when Bruno Fernandes was absent it was good to see a Brazilian midfielder showing he can help fill that creativity gap that the Portuguese leaves behind. If Ronaldo was the star of the show then Fred was the engine, he single-handedly managed to break the Tottenham press time and time again, dribbling through midfield and using the ball intelligenty. He was a blur of energy.

Wing-back worries

It was clearly a United tactic for Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford not to track Tottenham's wing-backs all the way back and they were often playing in fairly narrow positions out of possession, giving Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguilon room to attack into and the option to