Manchester United controlled the game against Athletic Club almost from start to finish during the Europa League semi-final first leg.
It was as good a performance as Manchester United have had under the management of Ruben Amorim since his arrival at the club in November.
This came at the perfect time, with the 3-0 victory seeing the Red Devils take one giant step towards the Europa League final.
Amorim turned to experience within United’s squad, and he was not let down by some impressive performances across the pitch.
It was the most important game of United’s season, and winning in such a manner has set the Red Devils up for another huge clash, unless disaster strikes at Old Trafford next week.
There were several top performances from United players, however, one has been heralded as the best on the pitch.
Ben Thornley names Casemiro as best player against Athletic Club
In the win, Casemiro was very impressive for United as he scored and also put in a 10/10 display, which came in the biggest game of the season so far.
Casemiro caught the eye of MUTV pundit Ben Thornley, who picked out the Brazilian as his star man on the night.
“Even before he scored the goal, he was head and shoulders the best player on the park, and once he scored, he only grew in stature.
“He gave everybody from United a gentle reminder as to why he has done so much in the game because he was majestic out there.”
Thornley was joined in this verdict by David May, who also picked Casemiro as his player of the match.
“Casemiro. Yeah, I thought he was outstanding. Whenever there was danger, he sniffed it out, sniffed a goal out for himself. Just a Rolls-Royce performance from him.”
Finally, Danny Webber praised Casemiro despite choosing Manuel Ugarte as his star man from the game.
“The two of them were fantastic in there, breaking things up, being a calm head. Those two in the middle were outstanding.
Casemiro finishes second in Manchester United fans’ player of the match vote
Casemiro is a completely different player in Europe than when he plays domestic football, suiting the tempo, and he is absolutely splendid and has been the standout performer in the Europa League over the past few games.
However, despite being picked by MUTV pundits as the player of the match, Casemiro only came second in the fans’ vote on the official club website.
- Bruno Fernandes – 53 per cent
- Casemiro – 32 per cent
- Harry Maguire – 7 per cent
Fernandes got over half of the vote from fans, and it is difficult to argue against as the Portuguese magnifico scored twice. However, Casemiro was the runaway runner-up with 32 per cent of the vote.
Really, it could have gone to anyone, but Casemiro probably edged it with his impact at both ends of the pitch proving key, with nine duels won, which was a game-leading figure.
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