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Manchester United secured a famous 2-1 win against fierce rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday. In doing so, the Red Devils took revenge for what happened in the final of the same competition last year.
Goals came from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, two young bright lights this season, as manager Erik ten Hag’s game plan worked a treat.
In contrast to what happened during the Premier League season, the 20-time English league champions defended deep and narrow, barely giving Pep Guardiola’s side any room to break through.
For once, the Dutchman had the option of playing with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at the back, and the duo certainly delivered. He also accepted the bold call to start Sofyan Amrabat as a defensive midfielder.
Casemiro is not part of the squad for the match
The Moroccan was error-prone in the last league game of the season against Brighton and many were calling for Casemiro to start in his place.
But news has emerged that the manager is considering ditching the Brazilian, who has not enjoyed his best season this term. He made himself available but his displays, both in his usual position and at centre-back, left a lot to be desired.
The former Real Madrid superstar has suffered a string of injuries which appear to have slowed him down, while the former Ajax coach’s tactics have also not suited the 32-year-old.
Casemiro struggled on his way back and made plenty of mistakes with and without the ball, especially with his hasty sliding moves all over the pitch.
About Casemiro:
Ten Haag said before the game that Casemiro was not in the starting lineup because he was not 100%.
The information we had was that this was not true.Then, during the warm-up, Casemiro informed the coach that he had been injured on the Wembley pitch.
— Joao Castelo-Branco (@j_castelobranco) May 25, 2024
Ten Hag announced that the five-time Champions League winner was injured and had to be left out of the matchday squad as a result. But according to journalist Joao Castelo-Branco from ESPN BrazilCasemiro was not injured.
“Ten Haag said before the game that Casemiro was not in the starting line-up because he was not 100%. The information we had was that this was not true.
“Then, during the warm-up, Casemiro informed the coach that he had been injured on the Wembley pitch,” he wrote X (earlier Twitter).
There was some confusion as printed copies given to reporters at Wembley mentioned the Brazil international as a substitute, but the official team list released by the club on social media did not have his name.
The Brazilian was not injured
This seems to indicate that issues have arisen between the midfielder and his manager. Casemiro may not have been too keen on the idea of starting the final from the bench and therefore opted out of the squad as a whole.
The pair were not seen talking or smiling after the win with only a brief handshake between the pair. Usually Casemiro is much more cheerful, especially when he comes out victorious. He was quite disappointed during the post-match scenes.
If that’s the case, it could signal the end of the veteran star. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is not the biggest fan of the amount spent to bring him in and his performances have certainly not justified his huge wages.
Saudi Arabia is said to be lurking. If United can recoup almost half of what they paid, they will likely sell. Maybe now they have another reason to go through with this plan after all.
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