Casemiro was thought to be a top defender, and his stats since coming to Manchester United do prove it. But his talent on the offensive end may be underestimated.
He has contributed two goals and three assists in the last five games, and although there are some passing errors from time to time, Casemiro has his strengths and characteristics in his sense of movement and reception. Coming to the Premier League, who dares to say that he can't "help the poor with technology"?
01. The stats don't lie: Casemiro has been praised consistently at Manchester United
a. Ratings rarely disappoint: he wins more than 70%.
Since Casemiro came to Manchester United, 11 of the previous 20 games have been rated more than 8 points!
In addition, 8 games were rated above 7 points, and only 1 fell below 6 points. It can be seen that his performance has always been between good and excellent.
Even more exaggerated, there are statistics showing that Casemiro did not start games, Manchester United won only 25% of games, and he started 69% of games.
It is worth mentioning that this set of statistics is presented after the league game with Arsenal, and Casemiro, who recently won all two cup games and contributed goals and assists, has increased his starting win rate to more than 70%.
b. 100+ on three stats: Is Casemiro the Premier League's No. 1 back?
So far this season, six midfielders in the Premier League have broken 100 on three key stats, and Casemiro is among them. These were the number of rivals won (104), the number of possessions recovered (102), and the number of times the offensive zone 3 was reached (120).
Speaking of the Premier League's No. 1 back, fans like to compare Casemiro to Arsenal's Thomas. In the last strong conversation between the two teams, Casemiro was sadly absent due to suspension.
From the statistical point of view, the Brazilian back is still slightly better, more obvious than the role of Thomas.
02. B2B type back? The effect is evident in 2 exclusion zones
a. Defensively, he is good at moving closer to the center back
From the team's statistics, Casemiro's contribution on the defensive end is unparalleled. He gave United a sense of confrontation and protection of the core area.
Casemiro, in particular, is very good at moving closer to the centre-back, which makes up for the relatively easy leakage of Premier League defenders.
Taking this defense as an example, Casemiro made two consecutive tackles in order to protect the top of the arc in the box, forcing Manchester City players to cross horizontally.
When the flank crossed accurately to Haaland in the middle of the box, it was Casemiro who completed the back of the clearance.
Taking the Manchester City derby's defence this time as an example, if Casemiro had not stepped back into the box to protect the front point, then the Manchester City players would have had the opportunity to exploit the combined loophole between Manchester United's two central defenders.
Casemiro is very good at retreating between 2 central defenders and solving the team's big problems.
Casemiro's header was good, and this time he scored two consecutive headers to defuse the team's crisis.
In particular, the first step back is very good, which helps the Manchester United defence a lot.
Looking at this time the break, Casemiro's movement of the protective penalty spot is clear, and the line of the solution is also going to the side non-core area.
Although his teammates brought down Cancelo caused controversy, Casemiro's handling of the ball was still clean and neat.
In particular, Manchester United central defender Lisandro Martinez is good at the front top, and he and Casemiro form a combination box, which has a good complementary effect.
b. Offensive end can score directly
As you can see from the heat map, Casemiro is not a midfielder who is good at influencing the midfield. He will make some passing errors from time to time, and the most suitable is to bring help at both ends.
The defensive end can retreat to the depths to save the situation, and the offensive end can insert the opponent's penalty area to score or play high-quality long-range shots.
The first goal of the match against Reading, Casemiro was extremely timingled forward after seeing Wan-Bissaka's cover run.
Anthony's straight shot and Casemiro scored with a pick-and-shoot from the attacking goalkeeper to help the team open the scoring first.
The subsequent ultra-long-range shot was one of Casemiro's personal labels.
He excels at cutting forward and shooting from distance, which makes Casemiro a surprise from time to time on the offensive end.
03. Undervalued in propulsion: off-ball catches should be the highlight
a. The impact on the mid-circle is underestimated: off-ball catches are the highlight
Although Casemiro's passing in the centre circle is not very good (his threat and assist ability into the box is not weak), the defender's awareness of off-ball reception is good and there are underrated areas in mobile positioning.
As you can see from the picture below, this time it was because Casemiro suddenly ran behind the opponent's high pressing player, making Manchester United's backcourt ball clear.
Pay special attention to Casemiro's movement, and although the ball was not given to his teammates, he turned the potential backfield mistake of his side into a very threatening counter-attack.
Looking at the ball this time, Casemiro managed to reach an open position through his own movement, and then split the ball on the wing to allow Rashford to successfully take the speed.
b. He can instigate advances and counterattacks
In the Manchester derby, although there was some controversy about the equaliser, Casemiro's movement when receiving the ball was still eye-catching.
It was still running to the open space behind the defender to respond, making Manchester City's high-post pressing plan a complete failure.
Under Manchester City's fierce pressure, Manchester United winger Anthony retreated and pretended to respond, and Casemiro's forward insertion completely exposed Manchester City's loopholes.
Although Casemiro's final straight shot was not of high quality, it allowed the Portuguese to score after Marcus Rashford and B Fei's mistakes.
Looking at the counterattack this time, Casemiro went to the core of the opponent with 2 defenders.
A cross was sent to the open Anthony, whose blast caused the goalkeeper to get off the ball and allow Westhorst to follow up and score his first goal since joining Manchester United.
The arrival of Casemiro helped Tenhach's system a lot. Not only on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end.
Conclusion:
He will turn 31 in less than a month, but the help Casemiro has brought to Manchester United is obvious to all.
He can also continue to reach the top for several years, and even set an example for young people and pass on some lessons. This Manchester United team is relatively young, and having a veteran like Casemiro at his peak to stay in the heart will be very important for the team.