Erik ten Hag made a big call this weekend when he chose not to play the experienced Casemiro for Manchester United in their derby defeat to Manchester City.
The Red Devils were thrashed 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium, with Ten Hag’s side seemingly unable to cope with the attacking quality of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
It remains to be seen if Casemiro could have made a difference in that defensive midfield role, but, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Man Utd midfielder Luke Chadwick said he expected we would now see the Brazil international starting more matches.
Having joined from Real Madrid in a big move in the summer, Casemiro has surprisingly found himself on the bench for most of his Old Trafford career so far, with Scott McTominay performing well in recent games to keep him out of the team.
Still, Chadwick has now named McTominay as the player most likely to make way for Casemiro in the middle of the park as Ten Hag will surely look at the City defeat and decide to change things in that department.
“It was a big call to make. I think in fairness McTominay earned his place in the team, leading up to this game. I also think United won’t really come up against an attack like this Man City team again this season, so even with a player who offers what Casemiro does there, I think it would’ve been a real challenge to contain City, with how well they were playing,” Chadwick said.
“You’d imagine Casemiro was brought in to be that main defensive midfielder in front of the defence. After this game, you’d think maybe Ten Hag will look to start him in matches now, I can’t imagine he’s been brought in to sit on the bench. Obviously he came on as a substitute, and he wasn’t brilliant, but he contributed to a slightly improved performance in the second half.
“I do expect Casemiro to come into the team now and make that defensive midfield place his own alongside Christian Eriksen.”