Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been accused of ‘poor management’ after the Manchester United boss failed to take Fred off at half-time during the 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a tale of two Brazilians at Old Trafford as Red Devils midfielder Fred got sent off and Neymar struck twice for PSG to leave Group H hanging on a knife edge.
United are left needing a draw at Leipzig next Tuesday to go through
Fred was lucky to stay on the pitch in the first half, as the referee decided his headbutt on Leandro Paredes was only worthy of a yellow card after looking at the pitch-side monitor.
He was even luckier not to be subbed at half-time despite the distinct feeling a second yellow could come – and in the end it did.
United had got themselves back into the game following Neymar’s opening goal as Marcus Rashford equalised, appearing to capitalise on the lifeline given to them by the referee, but a dramatic few moments turned the tide in PSG’s favour.
Fred got a soft second yellow for a challenge on Ander Herrera, immediately after Marquinhos had put the French club in front, and Solskjaer was left to rue leaving the midfielder on the pitch as Neymar completed the scoring in injury-time.
The United boss said: When the decision the ref made you maybe look back and say you should have – but there was no reason from his performance to take him off.
And former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara, himself a manager at non-league Billericay Town, was left staggered by Solskjaer’s decision, given his knack for coming on at the right moment as a player.
Neymar and Fred were the hero and villain of the piece at Old Trafford
Fred ought to have been shown red in the first half, but escaped with a yellow
He told talkSPORT: “You’ve got to take him off. For a manager who spent his life coming on as a substitute, how can he not know when to make a sub!?
“It was ridiculous. Fred’s game is all about winning tackles, adding that bite in midfield, so he’s always looking to get sent off.
“As soon as he makes a bad tackle, the ref has to send him off, and it’s poor management from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He has to get him off the pitch.
“Everyone watching that game could see that Fred was going to get sent off if he carries on. It cost Man United the game.”
Solskjaer admitted Fred probably should’ve been subbed
Meanwhile, Jason Cundy suggests the referee dismissed Fred in an attempt to make up for his poor decision in the first half.
And the former Chelsea striker insists Solskjaer should’ve thought about that and withdrawn Fred from the action to be safe.
“I wonder, in the referee’s mind, when he eventually gave Fred a second yellow, I wonder whether he felt he was making up for the decision in the first-half.
“Do you know what you do? You take that element away from the referee and sub him.”