Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has won five Champions League titles and been champion of the world three times with Real Madrid, too. There are more trophies – many more – for this proven winner from Sao Paulo state.
He’s won the last nine finals he’s been involved in, including a 2017 European Super Cup triumph against Manchester United, when he scored. He was also man of the match in the last European Super Cup in August 2022. He is a serial winner.
The English League Cup is not as important as any of those trophies, but he celebrated his first English and United trophy on Sunday so much that a Brazilian journalist asked for an explanation.
“I celebrate like this because I'm enjoying it here,” he smiled. “I left a great club, came to England and people wondered why … and moments like these are the answer. It’s one more trophy for me and we all know this is only the beginning, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be happy. I welcome it regardless of the competition.”
Casemiro, who turned 31 last week, has quickly become Manchester United’s most important player, not least because he is utterly driven to win again and again and again.
“Who already knows me understands I go after the ball as if it’s a plate of food,” he said. “This is my character, that didn't happen because it was a final or whatever. I attack every ball as if it was the last one.”
He believes United are firmly heading in the right direction.
“We’re growing and gaining respect in this country, but it’s early days and we have to keep improving,” Casemiro said in the Wembley mixed zone after the game. “We can't hide there are teams ahead of us like Manchester City and Arsenal, we must deal with this reality, but we're understanding our manager's philosophy and we will keep growing.
“My history has always been about winning since I was a kid, so here it isn't any different. I’m here to help my teammates and Manchester United.”
The Brazil flags in the United end at Wembley show what the fans think of their Brazilian contingent from which three Brazilian internationals started on Sunday against Newcastle United.
Another of those three has no doubt who is responsible for this early success. “Erik is essential,” said Antony, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax. “His energy, confidence, intelligence, and strategy are incredible.
“Everything he tells us before the match does happen on the pitch, so he’s part of this. It's my third trophy alongside him, we hugged after the match and he said there's more to come. We have the same mentality.”
Man United 2 Newcastle 0: Player ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea - 7: In-form and stayed that way. Best first-half save from Saint-Maximin on 31. Big save from a Trippier cross (though he was offside). Judged a run out of his area perfectly to win a 79th-minute Saint-Maximin ball. Brilliant punch to an 85th-minute Trippier corner. . PA -
Diogo Dalot - 5: Booked after a 9th-minute tackle on Saint-Maximin, dangerous ball into the box on 15. Skinned by Saint-Maximin close to goal before he was brought off at half time. AFP -
Raphael Varane - 8: Nipped a third-minute ball away from Wilson but it’s not about the moments with the Frenchman, but the peerless control and calm he brings to the defence. Came to England to win trophies. He’s done that now. EPA -
Lisandro Martinez - 8: Prepared for Newcastle’s fast and furious start but needed attention after a clash of heads with Schar. Still continued to put his head where it could – and did – hurt. A brave performance and a fine understanding with Varane next to him. AP -
Luke Shaw - 7: Fantastic delivery for Casemiro to set up the opening goal. Attacked in the second and could have been more selfish with a 74th-minute break. Reuters -
Fred - 7: Got to a dangerous ball in his own area before Almiron. Booked after 36, but tireless until he was taken off after 69 against a side who started well, played well and remained a threat throughout. Reuters -
Casemiro - 8: MUFC’s most important player against a competent foe, he headed his side ahead after 35 minutes. Straight into the fans asking for more. Pulled back by Joelinton before the break, but vital in the second snuffing out the Geordie attacks. Booked late on. AFP -
Antony - 6: Weak shot on target on 16, then did well to win the ball back a minute later. Twisted and turned past opponents, which infuriated them at one point and led to Casemiro being fouled. He has some way to go, but he has his moments. Getty -
Bruno Fernandes - 7: Busy against Newcastle’s most dangerous player Guimaraes. Ten Hag admonished him at times. Broke on 78 with Rashford to his right, but defender Trippier ended the move. Did well to stop a corner coming in on 90 but a challenge saw cries for a penalty. Broke in time added on but couldn’t add a third. AFP -
Marcus Rashford - 7: A danger when he got the ball, with Newcastle either fouling him or being beaten by him. Struck the second, a crucial finish just before the break, which had a little help from Botman. Shot well saved by Karius on 73. Getty -
Wout Weghorst - 6; Ball to Rashford in an early counter, then held off four players to get the first shot on target on 12. Set up the second, a slide pass to Rashford. Fantastic movement before he unloaded a left-foot shot, which was well saved by Karius on 45. Getty -
SUBS: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 9: On for Dalot at half-time. Wonderful tackle three minutes in to set up an attack. Created two chances at one end and cleared one at his own end within his first five minutes. Saint-Maximin was a threat in the first half. Much less in the second because of the South Londoner, who loves one-on-one defending. EPA -
Marcel Sabitzer - 8: On for Weghorst after 69 and won the ball back from a slide tackle in the middle before he set up Rashford. Shot over himself, then had a 77th minute shot blocked. Getty -
Scott McTominay -7: On for Fred after 69 as Ten Hag sought to protect his side’s lead. Headed a dangerous Trippier ball – aren’t they all? - away. Reuters -
Jadon Sancho - NA: On for Antony after 82, an illustration of the strength of depth on the MUFC bench. EPA -
Loris Karius - 5: There were so many eyes were on the goalkeeper ahead of his Newcastle debut, but Karius was given no chance by Casemiro and was unfortunate for the second goal. Made good saves to deny Weghorst, Rashford and Fernandes. PA -
Kieran Trippier - 6, Struggled against Rashford at times but was persistent. Also delivered a number of great crosses, including those to set up chances for Fabian Schar and Dan Burn. Did superbly to stop Fernandes’ pass to Rashford. AFP -
Fabian Schar - 4, Bravely won a header that went over the crossbar, but was eased out by Casemiro for the opener and did little to make things difficult for Weghorst in the build-up to the second. Put his team in trouble after getting tackled as he tried to run out from the back. Got booked after a coming together in the final moments. PA -
Sven Botman – 3, After already suffering from a couple of shaky moments, the Dutchman allowed Casemiro to get between him and Schar for the opener, then deflected Rashford’s shot past Karius for an own goal. Stupidly got himself booked for dissent and had some really sloppy moments towards the end. PA -
Dan Burn - 5, Was valiant in his defending against Antony but was toyed with at times in the first half, going on to make some big tackles in the second. Headed wide from a big opportunity and his long throws didn’t amount to much. Getty -
Bruno Guimaraes - 6, Slotted in seamlessly after seeing out a three-game suspension and showed his usual determination, but needlessly fouled Rashford to concede the free-kick that Casemiro scored the opener from. Getty -
Sean Longstaff - 6, Competed well and played a great pass across the face of goal that nobody got on the end of. PA -
Joelinton - 7, Put in a determined display but was too slow on the ball at times. Booked after smashing the ball at Antony and pulling down Casemiro out of frustration at the end of the first half. Unlucky to see two shots in quick succession blocked and an inventive header saved. PA -
Miguel Almiron - 6, Made some great bursts forward but couldn’t find the pass in a promising situation and hit a wild shot from another. Saw his shot blocked after a determined run and had a quiet second half. AFP -
Callum Wilson - 4, Was let down by a poor touch early on and his header towards goal was an unconvincing one. Saw a shot blocked after showing good awareness from a quick free-kick. AFP -
Allan Saint-Maximin - 6, Had bright moments and got Dalot booked inside the opening 10 minutes, then saw a strong shot blocked after showing quick feet in the box. Didn’t get anywhere near as much joy against Wan-Bissaka. AFP -
SUBS: Alexander Isak (Longstaff, HT) - 6, Made a determined burst forward with his first couple of contributions but faded out of the game as it went on. AFP -
Jacob Murphy (Saint-Maximin, 78’) – N/R, Won a corner moments after coming on and did brilliantly to prevent two breaks forward from the Red Devils, stopping Fernandes’ pass to Rashford and halting Antony. Sent a couple of ambitious strikes off target. PA -
Joe Willock (Guimaraes, 79’) – N/R, Showed some nice moments of quality but nothing that truly troubled United’s backline. Reuters -
Matt Ritchie (Wilson, 91’) – N/R, Showed a willingness to fight for the ball despite the game being out of reach. PA -
Elliot Anderson (Almiron, 91’) – N/R, Got involved in some pushing and shoving in the final moments. AFP
The mentality feeding down from the manager has helped turned a side around. United were dreadful a year ago and finished the season sixth, with no trophies and only 58 points – 35 points behind champions Manchester City. They were eliminated from all three cup competitions at Old Trafford and lost seven consecutive away games coming into this season.
Now, United have won the League Cup and sit third in the Premier League with 49 points from 24 games – 2.04 points per game. It was 1.55 last season. And they are getting better, both in the cups and in the league. Chelsea have scored only six goals in all competitions since November, United have scored 50. The defence that leaked six goals in the first two league games is now renowned for clean sheets.
One League Cup doesn’t mean United are back, but it points in the right direction, just as did the win in the same competition in 2006. A league title followed the next season, then the Champions League and Club World Cup championship in 2008. That is Casemiro territory.
The manager, who, like his unmourned predecessor Ralf Rangnick, was appointed by John Murtough and Darren Fletcher, is winning plaudits all round.
As Brazilian midfielder Fred said after the Wembley win: “All of us embrace his ideas. He's strict with details like punctuality, eating, sleep. On the pitch, tactically, everyone is seeing now what he is capable of. He's one of the people that deserve the most this trophy.”
It was Fred’s first silverware at United since joining in 2018.
“This trophy has a great importance after what we’ve lived in the past years, especially last season,” he said. “We are extremely happy today. It's my fifth season here and this title means a lot to me and to the club’s way back to the top. We have a lot to fight for this season yet.”
Can United win the Premier League this season? “For sure,” said Fred. “We know Arsenal and City are great teams but we have our means to fight for it. Our momentum is very good, so why not? We have three competitions left and will fight for each one of them.”
A first league title in a decade is improbable but under Ten Hag the belief that has been noticeably lacking is there that all is possible at least.
