Manchester United have a “good chance” of winning the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League this season, according to Fred, who has called for the team to raise their performance levels against the “so-called smaller clubs”.
The Red Devils have slipped to eighth in the Premier League standings after 19 fixtures, four points adrift of the final Champions League spot and a whopping 24 behind leaders Liverpool.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are unbeaten against the ‘big six’, with credible wins over Manchester City, Tottenham and Leicester on their record, but they have struggled to break down lesser sides content to sit back and absorb pressure.
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A 2-0 defeat at Watford on December 22 highlighted familiar issues, but United showed signs of improvement during a 4-1 victory over Newcastle at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
Despite their inconsistency in the league, United are still in contention for silverware across a number of competitions heading into 2020.
Supporters can look forward to a Carabao Cup semi-final date with Manchester City and a third-round FA Cup tie against Wolves next month, with the Europa League knockout phases due to commence in February.
Fred has expressed his belief that United are capable of winning a unique treble, while looking back on another “year of ups and downs” at Old Trafford.
“Firstly, I will continue to do my best to help the team win games and we want to win trophies too. I think we have a good chance in the cups – the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League, which are really important for us and we’ll be looking to win these trophies,” the Brazil international told the club’s official website.
“I hope to continue doing my best for the team and I hope that we can win a trophy in 2020.
“We have had some great games beating some big teams but then our performances have been very disappointing against some of the so-called smaller clubs.
“So it’s definitely been a year of ups and downs and we need to improve next year. We need to treat all games equally and go after the wins because we need to keep improving.”
Fred has finally started to live up to his potential in Manchester, after a slow start to life in England which saw him fail to justify a £52 million ($68m) price tag.
The 26-year-old has recently established himself as a mainstay in Solskjaer’s midfield, with stellar performances against City and Spurs serving as a stark reminder of his talents.
Fred is eager to show exactly why United signed him from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018, as he added: “I’m really happy to have had this consistent run in the team, it’s been really important for me to go onto the pitch and make a contribution.
“I had two of my best performances against Tottenham and Manchester City, and I think I’ve grown and improved. I’m really happy that I can help the team.
“We have games every couple of days and we need to keep on a good run and, for me, I want to continue to show my true game and show the reason that Manchester United signed me.”
United will be back in Premier League action on Saturday when they take in a trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley.
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