Rio Ferdinand singled out Casemiro for praise following his commanding showing in the middle of the park at Anfield on Sunday.
Whilst the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Senne Lammens, Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha have stolen the headlines for their efforts, it’s safe to say almost every Red did their bit to get the emphatic result over the line.
Why it was a surprise to see Casemiro included in the line-up
In the build-up to the fixture, it was expected Casemiro would drop to the bench due to the fact he’d played 180 minutes across two international fixtures over the break.
Not only that, the matches took place in South Korea and Japan, meaning he had travelled the furthest of any player involved on Merseyside (along with his compatriot Cunha).
Yet, the 33-year-old didn’t let any ounce of fatigue get the better of him, as he proceeded to put in a stalwart shift against Liverpool’s mega-money attack before he was withdrawn in the 58th minute and replaced by Manuel Ugarte.
Casemiro had been shown a yellow card by Michael Oliver just before he was removed from the fray, so it’s clear Ruben Amorim also wanted to avoid a situation akin to the Chelsea game, where the midfielder was shown two yellow cards and suspended for the subsequent gameweek.
Ferdinand lauds ‘invaluable’ Casemiro
Reacting to the night’s affairs on YouTube, Ferdinand poured praise on the five-time Champions League winner, saying: “He was outstanding in that first-half yesterday.
“I think his positional sense and awareness in that midfield area in a big game like that was invaluable.”
Next up for Amorim’s men is another tricky contest in the form of a home encounter against Brighton and Hove Albion, who were one of a host of teams to do the double over United last season.
