Why Casemiro Is Man United's Most Important Player
Under Erik Ten Hag, Casemiro has become Manchester United's MVP. But most fans have missed the real reason why...
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00:00 Man United had in their midfield. Now I know what you're thinking, Casemiro, he's been a revelation for Manchester United
00:04 Everybody knows this. They were a team that had virtually no steel, no solidity, no heart in the centre of midfield. A lot of talent, a lot of
00:11 ability, etc. But they would lose midfield battles in so many games
00:15 That was the area that teams throughout the league were convinced they could get at Man United in and now they can't. Now you don't lose
00:22 that battle and the reason for that everybody knows is because Casemiro is an
00:26 absolute bastard. Not in like the Pepe sense or anything, don't get me wrong
00:30 He's just really difficult to play against. He wins the ball back, he's determined, he's good on the ball
00:35 He's the exact opposite kind of player you want to be up against in that area of the pitch. His defensive
00:40 contribution to Manchester United cannot be understated. Everybody already knows this. Now not to get you too excited
00:45 but in just a few moments
00:46 I'm going to tell you why that is not the reason he is so badly missed. Why his defensive contribution is amazing, yes
00:52 But its absence is not why Man United occasionally struggle to control games
00:56 But we will quickly look at it first because I just want you to understand how good it is
00:59 All right
01:00 So the headline stat for Casemiro at Manchester United is that per 90 minutes he makes somewhere between five and six
01:07 major defensive
01:09 contributions. Tackles or interceptions. Winning the ball back in a good area
01:12 He does that between five and six times a game. I think he's exactly
01:15 5.5 per game across the entire season. And you might be thinking that's not an enormous number for somebody in that position
01:21 But just to put it into context the next nearest player on the team is Lissandra Martinez
01:25 He does it just over three times per game and then below that everyone's sort of like ones or two
01:30 So Casemiro roughly makes double the defensive contribution any other player in a Man United shirt in 90 minutes
01:37 The really crazy stat is that he actually leads the team as well for aerial duels won in all competitions
01:42 Like not the centre-backs who have to deal with crosses and corners, etc, etc
01:45 Casemiro wins the ball in the air more than any other player playing for Man United. Dallo Shaw, Martinez, Varane
01:51 They've all won the ball back something like 30 odd times in the air this season. Casemiro has nearly done it 40 times
01:55 It might seem like a bit of an anomalous stat, but it proves there's something in his positioning something in his determination
02:00 That is happening on purpose
02:01 So undeniably you're gonna miss that kind of contribution from any player regardless of the opposition
02:07 But and again, no disrespect to Fulham
02:08 It was Fulham at Old Trafford and Man United managed to line up pretty much as close to full strength as they were going to
02:13 In this competition. Like we just look at the 11 they had out last night
02:16 You'd probably say Man United's strongest team is mostly there like De Gea is there
02:19 It's kind of a coin toss at the minute between Dallo and Wan-Bissaka. Shaw's undeniably the first choice left back
02:25 Varane and Martinez, they've pretty much cemented themselves in that position
02:28 Then at the front the position seemingly change all the time, but Sancho's come back in at the number 10
02:33 He's done really well there. Veg Horst, yes, he has played around the place, but he's been leading the line
02:37 Rashford's there, Fernandes is there. It's only really in the centre midfield that you've got some kind of problem
02:42 Now yes, Maguire had come in for Varane
02:44 But the reason Man United weren't controlling the game wasn't because they were having loads and loads of chances created against them
02:49 They were actually defending pretty well. This part of the pitch here couldn't get anything going because at full strength
02:54 That is Christian Eriksen and that is Casemiro
02:57 Whereas last night that was Scott Mtominay and that was Sibitza. Genuinely relatively good players. Sibitza got a very important goal
03:04 He's been pretty good since he came in. Scott Mtominay gets way too much hate for what he's actually done for that club
03:09 But crucially they're just not those two. Now the thing about Eriksen is that people constantly shout that name in the street at me
03:16 But the other thing about Christian Eriksen is he was brought in to add so much quality on the ball to this team to get it
03:21 In any kind of position and then make that situation more dangerous
03:25 That's what he does. Now as a result per 90 minutes Christian Eriksen leads that Man United team for progressive passes
03:30 And yep, some of you may be asking what is a progressive pass Adam? How do you have an unprogressive pass?
03:36 Well, I'll explain. So you know how some teams are just full of like little passing nerds and they get like 99%
03:41 Pass completion and they do 400 passes a game, but it's all just duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. Nothing really interesting happens with it
03:47 well
03:47 Progressive passes is a stat they came up with to kind of measure the importance and the quality and the general thrust of the pass
03:54 It basically means any pass that's not in your defensive third and progresses the ball
03:59 Around about 10 yards closer to the opposition goal
04:03 Basically the kind of pass you always want your players to make. Now it's not a perfect metric like a 50 yarder into the channel
04:09 Will count exactly the same as like a beautiful little 15 yarder that puts someone into goal and and they score from it
04:14 But nonetheless when someone's on the ball, you want them to go forward you want them to advance the situation
04:19 That's what a progressive pass is and Christian Eriksen per 90 minutes makes more of those for Man United than any other player
04:25 But the thing is Christian Eriksen has been injured for ages and he's still got like at least another month out at the time of
04:30 Me recording this video. So who is Man United's next most progressive passer of the ball?
04:35 Which of the front four here do you think compares to Eriksen? Oh
04:39 No, I've done a little tricksy. It's none of these four players at all. The next most progressive passer of the ball for Man United is
04:47 Casemiro. Yeah more than Bruno Fernandes more than Marcus Rashford more than Jadon Sancho more than anybody else
04:54 Casemiro gets on the ball in this part of the pitch and thinks how can I progress this forward?
05:00 How can I force the opposition back and that is how you control games of football?
05:04 Now full disclosure here
05:05 The numbers are marginal between Fernandes and Casemiro and do actually vary depending on where you go and look for them
05:11 But everywhere is fairly consistent that Eriksen leads the team with about six and a half
05:14 Progressive passes per game and then Fernandes and Casemiro. They're both around the six mark now
05:20 I know what you're thinking that could just mean he's pumping it long into the channel
05:23 He's hitting this area here and this area here and while it is useful
05:26 It's not really making anything happen
05:27 Is he getting into these sort of positions and playing those kind of passes or is he getting somebody in behind here, etc?
05:33 Is he doing stuff that actually leads to attempts on goal? And yes, yes
05:38 He is second only to Bruno Fernandes who I will tell you in a minute is incredibly far ahead in this statistic
05:43 Casemiro is second in this team for passes that lead directly to an attempt on goal
05:48 It's actually quite a funny stat this one like Shaw, Rashford and Sancho
05:52 They're all sort of like low 30s early 40s and Casemiro
05:54 He's got like 45 of these passes across the entire season and then Bruno Fernandes anyone any guesses has over a hundred
06:01 So yeah, he's quite good. But Adam, I'm still not convinced
06:05 Anybody can just pass it to a teammate who then just blares it into
06:08 Rosette is there any measure of the quality of these chances is helping to create and yes
06:13 Yes
06:14 There is and again Fernandes is way way way out ahead for this particular staff
06:18 but second in this Manchester United team or
06:20 expected assists the number which measures the likelihood these passes will lead directly to a goal is
06:27 Casemiro. So just a really really hammer at this point home here why Casemiro has become so important to Man United
06:33 Yes
06:33 You take that man out with a pitch and all of a sudden your defensive cover goes away you lose the majority
06:38 Of your tackles and interceptions every single game. Yes, that's bad
06:42 You don't want that to happen
06:43 But you are also losing the second or third most
06:46 Creative player in your entire team for taking the ball from any location on the pitch and putting it in a more
06:53 Percentageous position that is why you don't control games when you don't have him in a team
06:59 I don't know how to put this any more plainly like Casemiro is an absolute monster in this area the pitch
07:04 But he also makes things happen in the Kenny Loggins area in the danger zone
07:09 And this of course does create problems all of its own
07:11 No straight red cards at Real Madrid ever and now two in his first season at Man United and why could that be?
07:17 Well, because when you're asking someone to take on so much work the cracks will eventually
07:22 Begin to show without Ericsson in that side
07:25 He's having to do so much more of the work with progressing the ball as well as winning it back and those two red cards
07:29 He's had it's not really his fault. Well, I mean obviously was his fault. He did make those challenges
07:34 He could have just not done that. I think he could talk his way out of that
07:36 I think I could talk my way out of that
07:38 So and the thing is with Ericsson out for a while now and the Fitch's can think to pile up and pile up and
07:42 Pile up it is a lot to be asking of one player
07:46 But ask him that almost certainly gonna have to do regardless. I think anyway, I don't know might be absolutely off my head
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