Casemiro sends United closer to top-four finish
Bournemouth Man United
CASEMIRO was brought to Manchester United last summer to help Erik ten Hag get the club back into the Champions League — just not quite like this.
The Brazilian arrived from Real Madrid in a £70million deal with a reputation for putting out fires rather than setting games alight.
‘The cement between the stones’ is how Ten Hag likes to describe him, and that was pretty much everyone else’s view of Casemiro.
It is fair to say the goal he scored here on the South Coast went somewhat against the grain. Ten Hag admitted afterwards that the 31-year-old has by far exceeded expectations in his first season, and this was certainly one of those moments. More spectacular by some distance than any of his previous five goals this season.
It arrived in the ninth minute and proved decisive. Bournemouth cleared the ball to the edge of the box where Victor Lindelof laid it off to Christian Eriksen. The Dane spotted Casemiro’s late run and picked him out with a wonderfully floated pass.
Marcos Senesi must have thought he had done enough as the Bournemouth defender stuck out his left leg to intercept. All he managed, however, was to tee it up nicely for Casemiro who produced
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an acrobatic overhead kick to hammer the ball into the top corner past his compatriot Neto.
‘The movement is great, the touch from Christian Eriksen is great and the finish is brilliant,’ said United manager Ten Hag. ‘He keeps surprising us. He’s such a brilliant player.’
For most of the afternoon it looked like being the goal that would send United into the Champions League next season until news came through of Roberto Firmino’s late equaliser for Liverpool against Aston Villa.
United need only one point from their final two home games against Chelsea and Fulham to be sure of a top-four finish, and Ten Hag did not sound like a man who doubts they will do it now.
Was he aware of the score at Anfield yesterday? ‘No, but it’s not important,’ said the United boss. ‘I’ve been telling you for weeks, we are in the lead. It’s only up to us. We have everything in our hands, we don’t have to look behind. It has nothing to do with any other team, just the opponent on the day.’
Ever since he walked through the door at Old Trafford last summer, the top-four was Ten Hag’s primary target. The Carabao Cup was a nice bonus, and the FA Cup would be even nicer when United return to Wembley next month. But Champions League qualification was always top of the list.
It was a basic requirement, to be fair, and one that looked in doubt these past few weeks as United wobbled and Liverpool put together an end-of-season spurt.
But Ten Hag is closer than ever to achieving his aim after this. United dominated early on and deserved the lead when Casemiro went airborne.
There were other chances, notably when substitute Wout Weghorst fired straight at Neto in the second half and Bruno Fernandes saw the keeper tip his volley over the bar.
But Bournemouth deserve great credit for shaking off their early lethargy to chase Ten Hag side’s all the way to the finish.
David de Gea was United’s other standout performer and he made a string of saves to keep the clean sheet that guarantees him the Golden Glove award. Say what you like about some of his errors this season, he remains a very good goalkeeper. The pick of them came when substitute Kieffer Moore went through, but De Gea came out and blocked with his legs.
The Spaniard saved from Dominic Solanke in the first half and then denied David Brooks a goal on his first start for 598 days following cancer treatment. Brooks deserved his standing ovation when he went off after 55 minutes. ‘There’s still a part of the journey to go for Brooksy,’ said Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil. ‘We have to be careful with him, he can’t play for too long at this moment.’
The rest of the Bournemouth players deserved the applause too when they did a lap of honour to mark the final home game of the season, having secured Premier League survival against the odds. ‘I’m proud of the players because it’s not easy when you’ve reached the top of the mountain and you have to go again and suffer against a good side like United,’ O’Neil added.
BOURNEMOUTH (4-2-3-1): Neto; Kelly, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Smith (Vina 66); Lerma, Cook; Christie (Ouattara 66), Brooks (Moore 55), Anthony; Solanke. Booked: Cook. used): Travers, Stephens, Mepham, Stacey, Sadi, Adu-Adjei. MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Shaw, Varane, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka; Casemiro, Eriksen (McTominay 86); Fernandes, Antony (Fred 86), Sancho (Garnacho 71); Martial (Weghorst 57). Subs (not used): Butland, Malacia, Dalot, Maguire, Pellistri.
Referee: C Kavanagh. 10,240