Bournemouth boss blown away by one ‘really good’ Manchester United star

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AFC Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neill was left to rue a ‘really good’ Casemiro goal as Manchester United moved one giant step closer to Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

What is it they say about the permanency of ‘class’?

Casemiro, after a difficult run post-World Cup, proved beyond all doubt that his underwhelming recent form was indeed merely temporary, taking his tally to an impressive six for the season with a wonderfully-improvised bicycle kick with just nine minutes on the clock on the South Coast.

“I thought we were good. There was not much in the game. We had a couple of decent chances,” O’Neill tells the Bournemouth website.

“They didn’t create too much. They are obviously a good side and you have to defend certain situations, and the chance they take was a tricky one as well. A really good finish.

“That’s a Man United side that are still full throttle; a big push for the top four. They mean business, you can feel it around them.”

Casemiro stunner sees Manchester United past Bournemouth

A hard-fought 1-0 win – a rare triumph on the road for Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils – means United need only a point at home to Chelsea or Fulham to secure a top-four spot at the expense of arch-rivals Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s men snatched a late point against Aston Villa. But the gap between one North West giant and another now stands at three points, with United having played a game fewer.

Casemiro, meanwhile, now has six goals and six assists since arriving from Real Madrid. An overhead kick winner from your 31-year-old so-called ‘defensive midfielder’? This is what they mean when they say ‘jogo bonito’.

He keeps surprising us,” Ten Hag beams.

“He’s such a brilliant football player, we know him as very good organisation, positioning, anticipating, intercepting a lot of balls, winning duels, a fighter, keeping the team together, but also in possession his passing, his distribution, but also finishing. Just a great football player.

“We emphasise a lot and where we train on a lot, it’s about the movements when we are in the final third and movements of course has to come from the front line, second line just behind but also from the third line with fullbacks and with Casemiro coming from there.

“The movement is great, the touch from Christian Eriksen I think is great and the finish is brilliant.”