Raphael Varane has admitted Manchester United must not dwell on Casemiro’s red card and let it impact the form they have shown this season.
It feels like there has been a bit of a drop off since the Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United at Wembley, but the Reds will be delighted to be in the Europa League quarter-finals later this week as we go into a second leg against Real Betis with a 4-1 advantage.
United will be without Casemiro for their next four domestic games. The Brazilian serves a four-match suspension for picking up his second straight red card in the Premier League this season.
Casemiro will now will the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham at Old Trafford and a further three Premier League matches on top of that.
After the scoreless draw with Southampton, Varane said (via The Mirror): “He’s a player who’s very important for us. He brings balance to the team and to the squad.
“But we have a great squad and we have to find another balance without him, but we have good players in every position on the pitch and we’re ready for the next games.
“I think he was very disappointed because nobody wants to get out of the pitch before the end but as I say it’s part of football. It was obviously very disappointing but we can focus on the next games and that’s it.”
He added: “I think it’s frustrating. Happy with the mentality, the fighting spirit. The team fought as a group and that’s the positive point. We knew we needed to run a little bit more, to be a bit more defensive but we reacted as a team, as a group and with a good mentality.
“We fight for each other. The crowd as well. We feel the support. I think we can be proud of the fighting spirit, obviously disappointed by the result but great teamwork.”
Varane is eager for the team to go on another winning run as soon as possible, with or without Casemiro.
The Frenchman continued: “I think if you take apart [i.e. take away] the game against Liverpool, we were in a good moment and good results so we have to keep the confidence. Obviously we want a good result to keep the rhythm.
“I think the winning mentality is here in this group. We want to win every game so we have to fight and be ready for Thursday.”
Get the most important Manchester United news, opinion, interviews and exclusive features with the Stretty Newsletter – Ad Free! Kick off your afternoon with the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
