It should not have taken this long for a club of Manchester United’s grandeur and resources to bring in a player of Casemiro’s quality to the heart of midfield.
While their rivals populated the key anchor role with world-class talent – Fernandinho and Rodri at Manchester City, Fabinho at Liverpool and N’Golo Kante at Chelsea - United have spent, and wasted on the whole, more than £1 billion in the post Alex Ferguson era on a host of ill-fitting players in other positions, and made do with a central midfield not fit for purpose.
As is the case in many aspects of their transfer policy, United seem to have got there in the end, years after their rivals. Eyebrows were raised at the fee shelled out for a 30-year-old in the summer, even more so after Casemiro’s poor control led to Everton’s opener on Sunday. But over the course of the next 85 minutes, the Brazilian showed United fans what their side had been missing, for far too long.
It just did not make any logical sense. What good did it do spending £90 million on Paul Pogba when he was forced to play alongside Scott McTominay, or splashing the cash on Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid when he had Daley Blind as his defensive option behind him?
McTominay and Blind are good players in their own right, and have had successful careers on the international stage, but neither are of Fernandinho’s class, or could hold a candle to the breathless defensive work-rate of Kante.
What’s more, the fact both have been utilised as central defenders for their respective countries tells you all you need to know about their stock in midfield.
A bizarre neglect of such a key position stretches back further, even in the successful final years of Ferguson’s tenure. Wayne Rooney, England and United’s all-time top goalscorer, often found himself deployed in central midfield, with the club citing Rooney’s passing range as the reason for such a move.
What would have made more sense was to keep a master of his craft in his preferred position, where he had spent a lifetime garnering record results, and bought a specialist, metronomic anchor.
Everton v Manchester United player ratings
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EVERTON PLAYER RATINGS: Jordan Pickford – 6. Will be annoyed that, having done well to reach Antony’s shot, he was unable to prevent it going in. Bailed out Gueye with a smart stop to deny Eriksen, then improvised to prod the ball away from Martial, but had no chance with Ronaldo’s winner. Finished the game as a makeshift attacker. AFP -
Seamus Coleman – 6. Spent the majority of the night up against Rashford and stuck tight to his man, despite the athletic mismatch. His safety-first approach in possession appeared to frustrate the home support, but made a vital clearance to deny Ronaldo a second-half tap-in. AFP -
Conor Coady – 6. Blocked well from Eriksen’s eighth-minute shot. Faced a bigger challenge when Ronaldo replaced the half-fit Martial and had no answer to the Portuguese’s pace for United’s second of the evening. Suffered a bloodied nose for his troubles. Getty -
James Tarkowski – 6. Made a brave block from Dalot after the Portuguese had burst into the Everton area. Increasingly sought to start attacks as the game wore on with long-range passes, but with mixed results. Given a VAR reprieve for Rashford’s disallowed effort after diving in. Reuters -
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 5. Kept on his toes by Antony during a busy first period. Landed awkwardly after an aerial challenge with the Brazilian but played on. Had a far quieter second half as the majority of the play took place on the opposite flank. Getty -
Alex Iwobi – 6. Broke the deadlock with a fine curling effort. Pressed well from the front and lent support all over the field, but was crucially caught in possession by Casemiro for Ronaldo’s landmark goal. Operated as an auxiliary right-back as Everton committed numbers forward in the later stages. AFP -
Idrissa Gueye – 5. A peripheral start manifested in surrendering possession for Antony’s leveller, then almost cost his side a second by passing straight to Eriksen. Sharpened up thereafter, but was always chasing after his slopping opening. PA -
Amadou Onana – 7. Hassled Casemiro into surrendering possession for Iwobi’s opener. Picked up a booking for bringing down Antony, having gifted the Brazilian possession, but was largely very tidy and troublesome to United. Headed over a half-chance 20 minutes from time and a better opening in the last minute. EPA -
Demarai Gray – 5. Took an early knock from Casemiro but quickly recovered to assist Iwobi’s opener. Switched flanks with Gordon for the latter stages of the first half. Got himself into some decent positions as Everton pressed to level, but too often was unable to pick out a teammate. Getty -
Neal Maupay – 4. Chasing shadows throughout the game as United bossed possession and largely reduced Everton to long punts. Given little change by Lisandro Martinez and was latterly replaced by Rondon as Frank Lampard looked for a less subtle route of attack. Reuters -
Anthony Gordon – 4. Looked too keyed-up throughout. Suffered an early rush of blood and overhit his first cross, then, perhaps frustrated by his limited involvement, attempted to muscle his way into the game and picked up a yellow for an overzealous challenge on Fernandes. Getty -
SUBS: Dwight McNeil (Gordon 67’) – 5. Introduced to add the attacking thrust Gordon failed to provide, but was equally unable to make inroad into United’s left-hand side. PA -
James Garner (Coleman 75’) – N/A. Given 15 minutes against his former side and came closer than anyone to forcing an equaliser when his curling effort was superbly tipped away from the top corner by De Gea. Reuters -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Gueye 76’) – N/A. Came on for his first outing of the season and met a rapturous reception, but he was let down by a misfiring supply line. Getty -
Salomon Rondon (Maupay 84’) – N/A. Lampard’s last throw of the dice, but didn’t have enough time to impact and was unable to get on the end of a string of deliveries. Getty -
MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER RATINGS: David De Gea – 7. Unsighted for Iwobi’s curling fifth-minute shot. Read a dangerous Everton move well on 32. Didn’t have much to do, but a vital 91st-minute save as Everton pushed for an equaliser they didn’t deserve in a frantic end and a flurry of corners. Reuters -
Diogo Dalot – 6. Fine run forward on eight before his shot was blocked. Lost the ball to give Everton a chance on 33. His pass towards Eriksen was picked up by Iwobi in an erratic first half for the Portuguese. Getty -
Victor Lindelof – 7. 200th game for United. Happy to feed the ball into the wide triangles demanded by Ten Hag as United moved up to fifth after a win against a side six unbeaten. Helped that he had Casemiro in front. Reuters -
Lisandro Martinez – 7. Strong against a side who’d not lost a league game since August. His manager always wants intensity. Never any shortage from the Argentine. Almost got on the end of an Eriksen free-kick on 63 and once again had more touches than any player on the pitch. AFP -
Luke Shaw – 8. Back in the side after Malacia’s poor form and his own encouraging performances for England and against Omonia. Looked comfortable and made several key recoveries against Iwobi. Smart defending on corners. Encouraging. EPA -
Casemiro – 8. First Premier League start after only 82 minutes in the league but caught on the ball and dispossessed in a move which led to Everton’s opener. Made a positive challenge a few minutes later as he settled down, but he should’ve scored a free header on 42. Set up Ronaldo for the second, a quick pass forward after winning the ball. Can defend. Brought balance, strength, experience, and an attacking threat. EPA -
Christian Eriksen – 7. Best performance for a few weeks. Combined well with Rashford and comfortable in possession. Set pieces hurt Everton and he was involved in much of United’s attacking play. Swung a shot over on 73. Reuters -
Antony – 8. Scored again, another excellent strike to equalise. Could run into gaps which were not there but always had a go – which Jadon Sancho wasn’t doing before getting dropped. Best player in first half, quieter in the second, but still worth his place. EPA -
Bruno Fernandes – 7. Just one goal this season, but he was involved in one. Smashed by Gordon, who was booked for the fifth time this season, on 63. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford – 8. Fast and effective on the left – in a tough battle with Colman too. Fine cross for Casemiro on 42. Thought he’d scored a third, but VAR said otherwise. Getty -
Anthony Martial – 7. Excellent in Nicosia on Thursday, he was lively in the few minutes he played at Goodison, setting up Antony for United’s equaliser. Real shame he had to go off after 27 minutes. EPA -
SUBS: Cristiano Ronaldo (Martial 27’) – 8. After a couple of bright runs, ran onto a ball to score his 700th club goal to help United to a fifth win in six league games. Won the ball to set up a 66th minute counter, which he was waiting to finish. Reuters -
Scott McTominay (Eriksen 83’) – NA. Picked up his 5th yellow card within minutes, meaning he’ll be banned from playing against Newcastle next weekend. Getty -
Raphael Varane (Antony 90’+2) – NA. Got his head to two Everton corners in a testing finish for United. United survived it though. Reuters
It is of course too early to tell if Casemiro will be a hit in this United side who flutter between catastrophe and renaissance week by week, and are up against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday night. But in his first Premier League start at Everton, he showed a defensive nous conspicuous by its absence in the red half of Manchester for a decade, or more.
United took their time to unleash the five-time Champions League winner on the English top flight. While rumours circulated Casemiro arrived short of fitness, ill-equipped to cope with the rigours of the supposed best league on the planet, The National understands there were no such concerns, and the club simply afforded McTominay time in the starting XI after his impressive start to the season.
It did not start well at Goodison, those sharpness fears heightening after Casemiro was caught on the ball in a dangerous position in the run-up to Alex Iwobi’s opener. Had United been duped into thinking a player at this stage of his career could be the long-awaited solution to a decade of midfield inferiority?
The 85 minutes that followed put such fears to bed. Casemiro made four tackles at Goodison – no United midfielder has made more in a single match this season – while he also won possession more often than any player on the pitch.
It was not a perfect full league debut by any stretch. Coupled with his early error, Casemiro lost possession more often than anyone in red, but given many of these passes were attempts to instigate attacks with penetrative pick-outs, he can be forgiven.
The pass into Cristiano Ronaldo for the game-clinching goal came from a very familiar source, after Casemiro had leapt into a tackle to win possession. The Brazilian already has as many league assists as McTominay managed all last term - dynamism not lost on his new manager.
“Casemiro will anticipate quickly and you saw how important he is," Erik ten Hag said after the match. “He is composed and wins a lot of balls and he grew into the game. I am so pleased.”
Now for the dreaded consistency. The early Casemiro effect signs are good and given some proper back four protection, at last, United can become a different proposition altogether.
