Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has moved to outline why he uses Scott McTominay and Fred in a midfield pairing so often.
Man United’s McFred midfield
Following the close of the summer transfer window, it has become even more clear to all that Manchester United’s weakest area is defensive midfield.
Fred and/or Scott McTominay are generally deployed in this area, alongside Paul Pogba in the ‘McFred’ pivot.
However, both players (particularly the former) are simply not cut out to be a leading defensive midfielder for a top side.
The Brazilian has been particularly poor over the last few years, prompting Roy Keane to question whether United can realistically challenge for major silverware with the Brazilian in their midfield:
“All of United’s shortcomings have been shown up in the last couple of days. Look at the performance of the two midfielders. [Scott] McTominay is a good, honest player. And they’ve got Fred. As long as those two players are in midfield for Manchester United, they will not be winning any big trophies.”
Solskjaer on picking McTominay and Fred
Despite the pair not being the highest quality defensive midfielders, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has generally preferred to use the McFred pivot over any other midfield combination in recent years.
This has generally led to Paul Pogba playing more on the left – where he does seem to play his better football – Nemanja Matic only being used on occasion and Donny van de Beek, well, the less said about his United stint the better.
Now though, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained why he starts Fred and McTominay so often, with the Norwegian keen to highlight the energy and desire they bring:
“As you said, first of all, the stats for those two together, we’ve had many, many good results, the energy they give us, the way we broke up play against Villa, they’re very, very instrumental together, in that respect. Energy and desire, and I really like to have the two of them.
“They’re two who I can trust and will always give what they’ve got. Fans will always have an opinion on any team selection and when you have got good players like me it’s hard to leave players out.”
Quotes via the Manchester Evening News.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Liverpool FC | 6 | 11 | 14 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 6 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 6 | 10 | 13 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 6 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 6 | -5 | 9 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | -5 | 9 |
| 12 | Watford FC | 6 | -2 | 7 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 6 | -3 | 7 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 | -2 | 6 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 6 | -3 | 6 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 6 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Leeds United | 6 | -8 | 3 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 6 | -6 | 2 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 6 | -14 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 5 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Gudmundsson, Johann | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 2 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
