Manchester United’s 13-game winning run at Old Trafford came to an end on Wednesday evening, with the Red Devils forced to fight back from two goals down to secure a point against bitter rivals Leeds United.
In what was a thrilling, end-to-end encounter between the two long-time foes, an early goal from the electric Wilfried Gnonto set the tone for what was to follow, with the Italian speedster netting inside 55 seconds to stun the home crowd.
The managerless visitors then enjoyed another fast start following the break, with Raphael Varane inadvertently turning home Crysencio Summerville’s pullback, leaving Erik ten Hag’s men with a mountain to climb to get something from the game.
To their credit, the in-form hosts soon responded through Marcus Rashford’s well-taken header, before the returning Jadon Sancho curled his effort through the hands of Illan Meslier for what was his first goal since September in all competitions.
Despite having plenty of time to complete that comeback, there was to be no winner for the Red Devils in the end, with the top-four hopefuls potentially left to reflect on what was two points dropped against their relegation-threatened opponents.
On a night of mixed fortunes for United, one clear villain was midfield dud, Fred, with the Brazil international having seemingly suffered without the presence of suspended compatriot, Casemiro, alongside him.
The “erratic” 29-year-old – as described by journalist Rob Blanchette – endured one of those nights where simply little went his way, having regularly sparked groans from those inside the Theatre of Dreams for his slack passing and carelessness in possession.
That was evident as the former Shakhtar Donetsk man lost the ball a staggering 24 times from his 83 touches, ensuring he ended the relentless encounter with a measly pass accuracy rate of just 67%.
Amid what was a “really poor” performance – in the words of Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst – the £120k-per-week man was also less than effective in winning the ball back having won only six of his 16 total duels, while also committing three fouls and being dribbled past on two occasions.
That distinct lack of quality was also apparent in an attacking sense, with Fred having squandered a handful of potential openings late on, notably producing a tame, curling effort that was routinely saved by Meslier.
On what was a ‘regressive night’ for the 5 foot 7 man in which he routinely ‘irked’ the crowd, as per Luckhurst, the struggling asset simply laid bare just how much of a miss Casemiro will be in the forthcoming games.
On the evidence of last night’s showing, the 30-year-old’s return can’t come soon enough…