Manchester United might have stumbled on their ideal midfield line up

There was a degree of trepidation leading up to Manchester United's crucial encounter with Tottenham on Saturday. As team news began trickling through, there was a definite sense of things going wrong at the worst possible moment for United.

The news that David de Gea — undoubtedly the player of the season so far — could be out looked to be the salt in the wounds as United reach the business end of what has been a truly dismal season. The suggestion that he might not be the only one missing only made matters worse.

It was a do-or-die game for United, so of course things were not going their way, even before a ball was kicked. But, just before the team sheets were handed out, there was some better news.

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De Gea was back in, and it looked as though Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane would be returning to the side. There was still one big-name absentee though. Bruno Fernandes was confirmed to be missing through illness just before the teams were officially announced. Reacting to the news though, United fans weren’t actually too concerned.

You would never have imagined 12 months ago that supporters would be feeling as calm about their two-time player of the year missing out. But such has the Portuguese’s form been this campaign that a change-up in midfield didn’t seem like the worst outcome.

And so it proved. In came Nemanja Matic for Scott McTominay, while Paul Pogba was given more licence in Fernandes’ usual advanced role as Fred acted as the number eight. The trio suited each other down to a tee as they helped United to that all-important 3-2 victory.

Fred’s performance in particular drew some well-deserved praise from Ralf Rangnick. "He's