Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted the best Manchester United player did not take their late free-kick to level the League Cup tie with Manchester City.
With United 1-0 up and 3-2 down on aggregate, City defender Nicolas Otamendi hacked down Harry Maguire in the 87th minute just outside the City area to gift them an attempt at goal from around 20 yards.
Substitutes Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira stood over the ball along with Fred, whose only goal for United was in the 1-1 draw against Wolves in September 2018. Pereira struck his first United goal with a curling free-kick against Ipswich Town in a 2015 League Cup win and Mata converted free-kicks against Newcastle United and Juventus last season. To widespread disbelief, Fred stepped up and hit the ball into the wall.
Fred was widely derided for a free-kick at Arsenal on New Year's Day that went viral and was tantamount to a rugby conversion. Solskjaer, who could be seen waving as if to instruct Mata to take the 88th minute free-kick, explained why Fred was chosen to take it.
"Juan is the best one when he feels like it," Solskjaer said. "But they practised yesterday [and] Juan told me Fred was unbelievable in training yesterday, he scored six or seven on the bounce and they both felt it was his moment.
"That was a decision they made there and then. Probably the right decision, just didn't work out well."
Despite the aggregate defeat, United's big-game nous continued with their 1-0 victory at City and Solskjaer is now only the third manager to inflict two home defeats on Pep Guardiola after Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp.
United have won their last two and host Wolves on Saturday in the Premier League aiming to match their longest winning run of three this term. Solskjaer insists United are taking strides to eradicate their inconsistent form.
"I've spoken about this so many times," he explained. "We know it's going to be inconsistent this season and while we're building, but it shows how good we can be and how good these boys can become.
"Yes, we want to eradicate them defeats but everyone watching us knows what we're trying to do and see what we're trying to do.
"The character, the attitude, today the quality wasn't great, sometimes that happens."
