It was a bizarre evening for Fred as he received some very good and very bad luck during Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain.
The midfielder somehow managed to avoid a red card for a clear headbutt on Leandro Paredes in the Champions League clash.
Paredes was left in a heap following the confrontation with Fred
But Fred avoided a first-half dismissal
He got away with a yellow and could have been given another one later in the first half following a 50-50 challenge with Paredes. He had no such luck in the second half, however.
Shortly after Marquinhos put the French giants 2-1 up, Fred got his second yellow for a challenge on former Man United star Ander Herrera but replays show the Brazilian got the ball first.
PSG got off to a fast start with Neymar firing them into an early lead but Marcus Rashford’s deflected strike levelled the scores. Neymar then added another in stoppage-time to seal the win.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men missed the perfect opportunity to book their place in the last-16, meaning they’ll need to avoid defeat at RB Leipzig in their final match to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage.
Neymar scored twice to give PSG the win
The match could have been a lot more difficult for them as Paredes went down in a heap following a confrontation with Fred but referee Daniele Orsato didn’t see the incident at the time.
Things looked very ominous for the Man United man when Orsato looked at his pitchside monitor with replays clearly showing Fred aggressively move his head at Paredes. However, Orsato decided to show Fred just a yellow card for his part in the incident.
Paredes and Fred get into a dispute on the pitch
The two go head-to-head
Fred then leans in on his opponent
Before Paredes went down
It looks as though Fred is a very lucky boy
He appeared to move his head towards Paredes off the ball, the referee took a closer look, and gave a yellow card
Already down a goal, that was a close call for Man Utd… pic.twitter.com/4c2JvDhxGO
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 2, 2020
But it seems Fred hadn’t learnt his lesson as he ran the risk of picking up a second yellow card after going in for a 50-50 challenge on Paredes in the 37th minute. However, Orsato decided Fred got there first and booked the Argentine instead even though Paredes appeared to come off worse.
The consensus is that Fred was a lucky boy, with talkSPORT host Jason Cundy saying he was ‘lost for words’ at the player not being sent off.
Cundy added: “Ive got no idea how hes still on the pitch.”
It’s not the only slice of luck Manchester United received with their goal, scored by Marcus Rashford, coming via a huge deflection off Abdou Diallo to level the game.
Rashford’s equaliser came against the run of play
However, all that luck left Manchester United in the second half, with Anthony Martial blazing the ball over with the goal at his mercy, while former PSG star Edinson Cavani’s exquisite chip crashed off the bar.
PSG took the lead again midway through the second half as Marquinhos poked home from close range after the ball pinballed around the box.
PSG retook the lead when Man United were on top
And Fred was sent off shortly after but replays show he got the ball first when challenging Herrera
The visitors added another in stoppage-time as Neymar tapped into an open goal as the Premier League side overcommitted in their desperate search for an equaliser.