Roy Keane blasted Fred for making a silly challenge on Kevin De Bruyne in the FA Cup Final
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was not happy with the challenge made by Fred on Kevin de Bruyne which led to Manchester City scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final.
Fred was given the responsibility to man-mark de Bruyne in the game. The Brazilian did a good job of that until the moment in the second half where he fouled the Belgian close to a corner flag in his own final third.
From the resulting free-kick, de Bruyne lifted the ball towards Ilkay Gundogan at the edge of the box for the German to volley the ball into the back of the net. Although the strike wasn’t pure, it had the direction to beat David de Gea.
Here’s what Keane said about that challenge from Fred (h/t ITV Sport, via Manchester Evening News):
“Fred had Kevin de Bruyne where he wants him. De Bruyne has his back to goal and then Fred fouls him. It’s the height of stupidity. But we’ve seen that from him so many times over the years.”
In a game as big as the FA Cup Final, every small detail matters, more so when you are playing the best team in the world.
Fred more or less neutralised de Bruyne for the first 50-odd minutes. But, the moment the latter started getting creative with his movements, the former panicked. Hence, that challenge near the corner flag.
Let’s hope this final is a lesson for Erik ten Hag to impose his philosophy in games like this rather than adopting a tepid approach by sitting deep and man-marking opposition players.
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- Gary Neville feels Manchester United need to part ways with David de Gea soon
For that to happen, the Dutchman would need proper backing in the transfer market. He has done an exceptional job in his first season at Old Trafford. Now, it is up to the owners to provide the necessary funds that are enough to buy players who can fill glaring gaps in the squad.
