Casemiro’s afternoon ended prematurely as he was hooked by Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who gave a brutal verdict after choosing to bring on Christian Eriksen
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
| Man Utd 2-1 Brentford | Andy Dunn’s verdict |
Erik ten Hag claims he hooked Casemiro at half-time because he “wanted more football”, with Christian Eriksen replacing the Brazilian.
Manchester United found themselves trailing at the interval against Brentford, who held the lead going in stoppage time before Scott McTominay scored twice to secure a dramatic victory. Casemiro’s afternoon was cut short as Ten Hag made changes after 45 minutes.
The former Real Madrid star has continued to struggle this term after excelling in his debut season. His difficulties continued against the Bees and Ten Hag clearly felt as though Casemiro wasn’t producing enough with the ball and opted to bring in his Danish team-mate.
Ten Hag’s reasoning for hauling off the Brazilian was particularly damning and could spell problems for the 31-year-old. The United boss has shown himself to be ruthless when necessary and Marcus Rashford, another man who’s struggled for form, was also bought off with his side seeking an equaliser.
McTominay’s late brace ensured United avoided a third successive home league defeat following losses at the hands of Brighton and Crystal Palace recently. Galatasaray also left Old Trafford with all three points in the Champions League in midweek.
Despite the win, Ten Hag was keen to remind his players of their current predicament. He added: “They (the players) know how far they have to go to get results and it can’t be easy going. In football, it’s eat or get eaten and too many times in the first half of the season we got eaten by teams who are more hungry.”
Casemiro’s afternoon lasted 45 minutes before he was withdrawn
The Dutchman went on to say: “This must be the turning point. This reflects our season so far from the start of a game. It has to be that you believe and you see the fans believe: they are sticking together. They are behind us and they kept us going. But then we have a plan and that is the big compliment for the team.
“They kept the plan. They kept switching. And from there on in the right moment, you bring the ball in the box. And of course we had to make and bring more players in the box. And I think that’s what we did the last 30 minutes and then you get rewarded in the end.”
United will now pause as several of their players head off on international duty. When they resume action in a fortnight they will take on winless Sheffield United.
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our __Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
TNT Sports gives you access to games across the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and many more. You can also watch the biggest clashes in boxing, UFC, WWE and the get exclusive action from MLB all for one payment every month. You can watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
£29.99 a month and get access to discovery+ Premium at no extra cost
TNT Sports
