Jamie Redknapp has slammed Casemiro and claimed he looks like a Soccer Aid player after Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.
It was another day bad at the office for United as a brace from Bruno Fernandes meant the team could settle for a point.
However, that won’t be enough in our pursuit for a Champions League spot and our main objective to feature in Europe’s biggest competition next season has slipped away.
Casemiro’s form rightly criticised
After joining United from Real Madrid for £70 million in the summer of 2022, Casemiro led by example last season, but the 32-year-old’s performances have dramatically dipped this time around.
The Brazilian isn’t a shadow of the player he was last term and United are paying a heavy price for that each week.
Against Bournemouth on Saturday, Casemiro failed to provide United’s defence with much protection and gave the ball away repeatedly.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher took aim at Casemiro after his poor display.
“I’ve watched him for many years and he is one of my favourite midfielders in world football,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports after the 2-2 draw.
“I love watching him play. But right now he looks like he’s in Soccer Aid. He looks like he’s playing at such a pace where the game is a bit of fun and there’s celebrities coming on the pitch.
“No. This is the Premier League… you’ve got so much experience. That isn’t the case of anything else apart from running.”
"It looks like he's in Soccer Aid"
Jamie Redknapp's honest opinion on Casemiro 😬 pic.twitter.com/tSw1by3uIq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 13, 2024
Redknapp’s criticism is valid for most of the game on Saturday, however, the worst offence committed by Casemiro was when he left Willy Kambwala isolated for Bournemouth’s second goal, which was scored by Justin Kluivert.
The Sky Sports pundit, who played in Soccer Aid (charity match) in 2021, felt that Casemiro should have done better to help put his young team-mate and questioned his attitude.
“Keep your eye on Casemiro there,” he added. “He now decides to walk? Why are you walking there?
“There’s things happening so quickly and you’ve realised now that players like Rodri and Declan Rice, are they going to be walking when Kambwala’s now got to face Kluivert in a one-on-one situation?
“I’m thinking I need to help my mate. He’s nineteen years of age – you’ve got experience and won Champions Leagues.
“Just as it carries on he’s still walking then he decides “I’ll get into a bit of a jog”. Now look how close he is when Kluivert shoots. If he ran then he would have blocked that.”
Redknapp continued: “(With) Kobbie Mainoo. He’s got everything in the world at his feet but you need great role models to get to the top.
“You need great people to look up to that you’re going to aspire to be like. At the moment Casemiro is not setting the right examples to the people around him.
“As I say I’m a massive fan but that isn’t good enough because if he’d sprinted he’d have stopped that.”
The result puts United seventh in the Premier League table, with an FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City to look forward to next weekend.
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