The Brazilian looks fitter than last season and can thrive in a more cohesive team structure, despite what his critics might say
Jamie Carragher may have urged Casemiro to quit Manchester United in the final throes of last season, but the Brazilian is going nowhere. In fact, he looks ready to show that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.
The 32-year-old had a dreadful previous season by all accounts, including his own, but his performance in the Community Shield against Manchester City showed that there is still life in the veteran midfielder, and that he can play a leading role this season, albeit in a different way.
Casemiro fell victim to United’s loose shape last season as well as the team’s injury crisis. He missed almost four months of action with a hamstring problem while injuries to United' defenders led to him having to deputise at centre-back, when he produced his very worst displays, including the debacle at Crystal Palace which sparked Carragher’s brutal takedown.
But if given the right support, and if he is able to operate in a better midfield structure, Casemiro could yet surprise his critics, including a certain former Liverpool great…
Getty End was nigh
Back in May, Wembley looked to be the scene of Casemiro’s last stand as a United player. He was left out of the starting line-up for the FA Cup final and was initially named on the substitutes' bench on the teamsheet, only for United to reveal on their own website that he was not in the squad after all.
The club insisted he had a muscle injury and the extent of it only became apparent after arriving at the stadium. There had been no mention of this injury ahead of the game, however, and Ten Hag would reveal months later that he had indeed dropped Casemiro for the final, making no mention of a potential fitness issue.
As United’s players danced on the Wembley turf with the trphy after staging a stunning win over Manchester City, Casemiro, dressed in a suit, cut a sullen figure. This looked like the end, a brutal yet fitting denouement to a season of nightmares.
A move to the Saudi Pro League at the time looked like a logical solution to United's problem of being weighed down by his huge salary (the second-highest at the club) and Casemiro's struggles to cope with the intensity of the Premier League at the age of 32.
AdvertisementGettyOrchestrating attacks
But less than three months later, Wembley looked like being the scene of the start of a new beginning. Casemiro was not just in the squad but in the starting line-up for the Community Shield, and he proved to be one of United’s best players.
His work with the ball was what really stood out. Continuing on from the pre-season tour of the United States, Casemiro operated like a No.8 or even a 10 against City and was behind some of United’s most eye-catching moves.
He played an incisive pass to release Amad Diallo in the penalty area after a sublime passage of play which was just spoiled by the winger cutting the ball back to no one rather than shooting. A few minutes later, Casemiro was again involved in a flowing move and picked out Marcus Rashford, who curled wide.
At other moments he resembled a deep-lying playmaker, be it when he was releasing Mason Mount or laying the ball off to Bruno Fernandes before the Portuguese in turn played in Alejandro Garnacho. Casemiro also pulled off one of the crunching tackles that fans loved so much in his first season, swiping the ball from Matheus Nunes, while he also halted Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku by staying on his feet.
GettyWill to win
Casemiro looked deadly concentrated in the penalty shootout, too. He nailed his spot-kick past Ederson, sending his compatriot the wrong way, and otherwise focused on advising Andre Onana where to dive or consoling Jadon Sancho after he spurned his kick. When City lifted the trophy, Casemiro stared intently, looking furious. He clearly felt that United had let the silverware slip from their grasp.
The Community Shield might not be seen as a major honour, but Casemiro badly wanted it. At Real Madrid he took every competition seriously, which is why he lifted no fewer than 18 trophies with them.
It is that will to win which United were looking for when they signed him from Madrid, for a whopping £70m ($89m) and on huge wages. Last season that fee looked like a huge oversight, and one good performance in the Community Shield does not excuse it.
But that same will to win which attracted United to Casemiro in the first place also prevented him from taking Carragher’s advice and calling it quits by heading to Saudi Arabia. Casemiro does not want the shame of Selhurst Park to be people’s defining memory of his time at United.
GettyIsolated in 'impossible' formation
Casemiro was left exposed in many games last season as the sole defensive midfielder in an unorthodox shape that Erik ten Hag improvised with due to the team’s deep injury problems and the fact that explosive counter-attacks were their best chance of getting at opponents.
Carragher, a thorn in United’s side on more than one occasion last season, defined the Red Devils as “a team who like to press high with a deep block" and said they “defend like a team I’ve never seen before” after their 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham in February. He added: “It’s impossible. They’re trying to do two things at the same time. It’s been the problem for Manchester United all season, the space between the back four and midfield.
Casemiro bore the brunt of this high-risk approach more than anyone else in the United squad, and he often looked ill-equipped to stop opponents’ quick transitions. The Brazilian, who missed around three months with injury and later claimed to have played while not being fully fit, looked extra vulnerable in the formation.
