Liverpool midfielder Fabinho thinks Brazilian compatriot Fred continues to be unfairly singled out by Manchester United supporters.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who joined the ranks at Old Trafford from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 for a reported £47 million, will be hoping to form a partnership with Casemiro in the coming months.
The pair have enjoyed a successful period in Brazil's national team set-up. In fact, Tite's side have only lost once in 20 games when Fred and Casemiro have played together, winning 18 times with 15 clean sheets.
With his impressive form for the national team in mind, Brazil teammate Fabinho, who will likely come up against Fred on Monday night when Liverpool take on Manchester United, has jumped to the defence of his fellow midfielder.
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"Sometimes I don’t really understand the criticisms with Fred because he is a regular player, he always plays good football," he told The Telegraph.
"In general Manchester United have not been successful in the last seasons so you try to find a solution or you try to put the fault on some of the players and sometimes I think Fred is that player.
"But he is a good player, in the national team, he is always a starter, he always plays good and, yes, sometimes the player needs a little bit more confidence to play good.
"Last season he played really good football, maybe he was one of the best United players. This season United didn’t start really good but I hope Fred will play good and United will stay playing like this."
In addition to his comments about Fred, the Liverpool midfielder believes Manchester United's latest signing Casemiro will adapt quickly to life in England's top flight.
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"I played with him in Real Madrid's second team and with the national team," Fabinho added. "He is a friend, we always have conversations and he is a good guy.
“Of course, he will be a good signing. Casemiro is a smart guy, he is a good player, he is strong, he is good in the air, so it will not be hard for him to adapt to the Premier League.”
Fabinho's comments about Fred come just days after Jurgen Klopp described Fred as a "really good" player.
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In a press conference ahead of Liverpool's clash against Manchester United, the German said: "Football quality in midfield, whoever lines up: [Christian] Eriksen, [Bruno] Fernandes, Donny van de Beek, Fred, who Gabby [Agbonlahor] doesn’t like but I think is a really good player, and [Scott] McTominay, there’s real quality there.
"It’s about how we deal with that. Two games they’ve played in the league, I saw them both and if we have to try to figure out if he will change, what he will change, and if we have no idea then we have to try to learn it in the game."
Featured Image Credit: Liverpool/AlamyTopics: Fabinho, Fred, Manchester United, Liverpool, Premier League