sport news Fred display in Man United draw with Leeds exposed midfield issues trends now
Erik ten Hag is striving to bring back the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson to Manchester United.
Rather like Fergie, the Dutch coach also often chews gum during games and it can be a pretty effective prop for expressing frustration.
It was spotted that Ten Hag was so annoyed by something Fred did during Wednesday night's draw with Leeds United, he took the gum out of his mouth and hurled it to the floor.
There was also a mad minute at Old Trafford when the Brazilian midfielder conceded a free-kick, misplaced a pass and lost possession in a duel, raising his manager's stress levels still further.
Unfortunately for Fred, the 2-2 draw was further proof that he is a decent enough squad player for United, a solid 6/10 performer, but he shouldn't be a regular starter. It's also glaringly obvious he is not Casemiro.
Fred did little to help Erik ten Hag's stress levels as Man United were held to a draw by Leeds
The Brazilian stepped into a midfield lacking his compatriot Casemiro and struggled at times
There is a clear drop-off in United's win percentage and points per game in the Premier League between when Casemiro starts and when he is absent
As expected, United missed their suspended midfielder greatly as they dropped two important points in their pursuit of a top four finish in the Premier League.
That is a theme. In the league this season, United have a win percentage of 69.2 and a points-per-game average of 2.3 out of 3 when Casemiro starts.
Without him, those figures collapse to 44.4 per cent and 1.4. Even with the caveat of United's first two games of the season - before they signed Casemiro - being defeats, that is a staggering drop-off.
Fred and Marcel Sabitzer deputised for Casemiro and the injured Christian Eriksen, but United missed their usual authority in the middle of the park and Leeds took advantage.
In the end, they hauled themselves back from two-down to claim a point, with Jadon Sancho returning fully to the fold with a well-taken goal, but fears about the midfield being too lightweight were realised.
It was also proof that further investment is required in Ten Hag's squad if they are to challenge for the title or compete in the Champions League.
Scratch below that first-choice XI and United remain painfully short on quality and it's partly why Ten Hag continuously risks burn-out by selecting his strongest available side in every competition.
United lack adequate defensive midfield back-up to Casemiro and it needs to be addressed in the summer.
Marcel Sabitzer started alongside Fred against Leeds with Casemiro and Eriksen absent
Casemiro's red card for raising his hands to the neck of Crystal Palace's Will Hughes, leading to a three-game Premier League suspension, has harmed United
Sabitzer's touch map from Wednesday night showed his desire to get into advanced positions
Fred was more reserved but he still got into forward positions and had a couple of chances
