Watch: Casemiro gets brutally nutmegged on full Man Utd debut
Casemiro of Manchester United tussles with Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad during the UEFA Europa League match at Old Trafford,Manchester, England, 8th September 2022.
Last night Casemiro made his long-awaited full Manchester United debut, but it didn’t quite go as planned in a 1-0 home defeat to Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Casemiro has been a statement-making signing for United and his arrival appears to have coincided with an upturn in belief and confidence. He was unveiled at Old Trafford ahead of the Red Devils’ 2-1 victory over Liverpool, a vital result that kicked off a winning run.
The Red Devils were bottom of the Premier League, following defeats in their opening two games, when five-time Champions League winner Casemiro joined.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder has a different kind of profile to Erik ten Hag’s top target Frenkie de Jong, but he nevertheless brings serious pedigree to the dressing room.
Still, Ten Hag has taken the bold call to be patient with the 30-year-old, limiting his first appearances to cameos off the bench in the Premier League. The marquee signing has been sat on the bench alongside club captain Harry Maguire and top earner Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He is new in the team, he has to adapt to the team. He has to get used to my way of playing football. The other thing, Scott McTominay is playing really well,” Ten Hag explained his decision to leave Casemiro out of the starting XI for Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Arsenal, in stark contrast to throwing Antony straight in.
The Europa League group stage opener gave Ten Hag the opportunity to rotate, with Maguire, Ronaldo and Casemiro all being named in the starting line-up.
Aihen Riquelme (?) pic.twitter.com/LuBrIBsXM1
— Pensando en Fútbol | Tomás Izquierdo (@PensandoFutbol8) September 8, 2022
But the night undoubtedly belonged to Real Sociedad, who came away from Old Trafford with three deserved points after producing an excellent performance against their in-form Premier League hosts.
The 36-year-old Manchester City icon David Silva rolled back the years with a composed performance in midfield and Brais Mendez’s penalty on the hour mark proved the difference between the two sides.
One of the other highlights for the La Liga outfit came via the relatively unheralded left-back Aihen Munoz, who left Casemiro eating his dust with a perfectly-executed feint that nutmegged the onrushing midfielder..TAP.TO.CONTINUE.READING
Munoz did a great Juan Roman Riquelme impression, stopping the ball in its tracks and leaving Casemiro going one way while he went the other.
