UEFA Champions League 2018/19: Manchester United 0-1 FC Barcelona - 5 Hits and Flops 

#3 Hit - Fred

Fred was Manchester United's best player on the night

Ever since making the switch to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in a hefty deal last summer, Fred has struggled to live up to the expectations consistently.

The Brazilian has come in for criticism in the past for being flat and ineffective while defending, but retained his place in the starting eleven for the quarter-finals after his impressive display against Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg last month.

And during the defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday, Fred stood tall in midfield and ensured he limited the influence of the likes of Arthur and Ivan Rakitic on the ball. The midfielder covered plenty of ground for the Red Devils, and ensured he was always alert to mop up the danger whenever it threatened to break out.

Fred held the midfield triumvirate of Manchester United together as he worked tirelessly and efficiently to make his presence felt ahead of the likes of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.

In addition to his excellent reading of the game and tenacious defending, Fred was also one of Manchester United's most creative players after constantly looking up to try and feed his team-mates in promising areas of the pitch.

The midfielder produced a defence-splitting pass during Manchester United's dominant spell after the half time interval, but Marcus Rashford failed to tuck it away after miscontrolling the ball.