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Manchester United suffered their first home defeat in 20 games, losing 1-3 to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday at Old Trafford.
The Seagulls were the team that inflicted the first defeat of the Erik ten Hag era and they compounded matters on Saturday, inflicting United’s third defeat in the opening five games.
Injuries and off-field issues are a matter of concern at the club but what is hurting the team the most is the form of Casemiro. The backbone of the team last season, the Brazilian has been a shadow of his former self.
Casemiro’s poor passing
Against Roberto De Zerbi’s side, the former Real Madrid man finished the game with a poor 79 percent passing rate and was robbed of possession many a time.
His passing has been uncharacteristically poor this campaign, crossing the 85 percent success mark only once this season, in the defeat to Arsenal.
In the last game of the international week against Peru, Casemiro was lambasted by Brazilian media for putting in a below-par performance and the criticism was similar to what United fans witnessed at the Theatre of Dreams.
“Pressured by the marking, he had difficulties. He also missed short passes, which he doesn’t tend to miss,” was Globo Esporte‘s view on Wednesday. Fans will agree with that assessment on Saturday as well.
The manager’s decisions have not helped the 31-year-old either. He tried playing Mason Mount in an advanced position, which allowed the opposition space to counter.
Against Brighton, Scott McTominay was played on the right of the midfield instead of playing a specialist winger and he seemed lost about his positioning.
Casemiro has never been the most mobile but he always has tended to use his intelligence to win back the ball.
Casemiro struggling to win duels
But when playing against a relentless pressing team, it has become difficult for him, especially with very little help from his fellow midfielders.
His ground duel success rate has always been exemplary, but not this campaign. Against the Seagulls, he won only 50 percent of his duels, while against Tottenham Hotspur it was 44 percent, and against Arsenal, it was a meager 33 percent (all stats via Sofascore).
The manager should try and alleviate some of the pressure off of Casemiro and play a more specialist defensive midfielder alongside him, at least for the big games.
In his current avatar, there are doubts whether he can handle the pressure on his own without help in a crucial game such as the one against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in midweek.
McTominay or Sofyan Amrabat would allow the Brazil international to once again strut his stuff while the other players can play alongside him in home games against the smaller sides.
