September 15th 2023.
Martin Keown has stepped in to defend Casemiro, the Manchester United midfielder who has been struggling under the guidance of manager Erik ten Hag. The Brazilian has been the most dribbled-past player in the Premier League in the first four matches of the season, with Wolves’ midfielders bypassing him at will before Spurs ripped through him in the second half of their 2-0 victory last month.
Keown believes the fault lies with Ten Hag, citing the tactic of leaving Casemiro alone at the base of the midfield and the lack of cover for Wan-Bissaka when he gets high and wide as the main causes of the Brazilian’s struggles. He wrote in his Daily Mail column, “United are the Premier League’s worst culprits for letting opponents dribble past them and Casemiro tops the list. But it does not help that the 31-year-old Brazilian is often left on his own to deal with the flood of opposition players coming through the middle.”
Keown is adamant that Ten Hag needs to re-evaluate his tactics with Brighton visiting Old Trafford on Saturday. He continued, “When Casemiro dropped to create a back three, Ten Hag was ordering his full backs to get high and wide. Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked wary of carrying out that instruction because he was not getting cover from midfield, and there was nobody screening the passes into the counter-attacking Gabriel Martinelli.”
The pundit concluded by warning that a loss to Brighton would plunge Ten Hag into a full-blown crisis. He remarked, “United must put up a more convincing performance, find a better balance and get a result. Lose this one and Ten Hag will be facing a full-blown crisis.” Casemiro has looked very rusty at the start of the new season, and it is now up to Ten Hag to ensure the team is better prepared and balanced enough to take on Brighton and come out with a win.
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