Roy Keane laid into Fred despite his goal in Manchester United's win over Tottenham.
The Red Devils again had to come from behind on the road as they overturned a half-time deficit to secure a 3-1 victory.
It was Fred's close range effort that got United back on level terms.
The Brazilian was quickest to react when Hugo Lloris palmed out Edinson Cavani's initial effort.
Keane joked that his goal was a saving grace as he laid into the midfielder's display in north London.
He said on Sky Sports: "Just as well Fred scored, I thought he was dreadful. I don't know what people are talking about saying he played well.
"But again good link-up play from United, which is what they are good at. One-two in and around the box, poor defending from Tottenham and Fred on the spot.
"I thought he was even going to miss that, but lovely play."
Scott McTominay though disagreed with the Irishman's assessment as he praised his midfield colleague.
United's win serves as retribution for their 6-1 humiliation earlier this term, which the Scot concedes was a motivation.
He said: "Fred was terrific today, along with Paul [Poga] and Mason [Greenwood]. They had real energy and the manager will be pleased with a lot of players today.
"We owed Tottenham a proper game - we had that in our minds - and today was much better than last time."
Cavani scored United's second before Mason Greenwood made the game safe in stoppage time.
The win further consolidates second place for the Red Devils while Tottenham's top four hopes now hang by a thread.
