Casemiro underlined his importance for Manchester United with two goals as they cruised past Reading to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
While the Brazilian midfielder was brought to the club in August 2022 to bring steel to the heart of United’s midfield, he stepped up his performance to break down Royals’ resistance early in the second half.
He scored the opening goal after running onto Anthony’s incisive pass, and four minutes later doubled United’s lead by curling in from the edge of the box after collecting Fred’s pass.
United captain Harry Maguire said, “He did what he was brought in to do. He’s a phenomenal player.”
“You don’t win what he’s won without a top player. He’s improved the team, the morale, the performance and it’s great to have him.”
The former Real Madrid midfielder’s absence was felt by United during last weekend’s Premier League defeat at Arsenal, and he was given a standing ovation by the home supporters who fully appreciated his value to the club. Acknowledge.
“He [Cassimiro] is really important with all his experience, but he’s such a smart player and intelligent,” United manager Erik ten Hague said.
“He knows the position, how to deal with the ball and he is also creative, and we are really happy with him. He is important for the improvement of the team.”
Any hopes of a Reading revival were dashed when Andy Carroll was sent off after picking up his second yellow card shortly before Fred headed home the hosts’ third goal from a Bruno Fernandes cross.
And although The Hague’s side had chances to score a fourth, substitute Amadou Mbango leveled from Tom Innes’ corner for Championship side Reading.
Casemiro and Fred lead the way in front of goal.
The last of United’s 12 FA Cup victories came in 2016 and Ten Hag signaled the importance of the competition by selecting a strong starting XI, including a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win over Nottingham Forest midweek. There was only one change.
And there’s no doubt that United deserved their win after dominating a one-sided affair in which they struggled to win early on due to poor finishing.
Winger Antony was particularly wasteful with four shots in the first half, each curling effort almost a carbon copy of the previous one, all drifting wide of the far post.
Fernandes twice dragged efforts on goal and wide, while Voetweghorst, Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford had chances to break the deadlock.
Reading came to the rescue when United found the ball in the back of the net after VAR, with Netherlands forward Wieghorst ruled offside before nodding the ball in the direction of Rashford, the England striker hitting the back post. But went in vain.
They were almost made to pay on the stroke of half-time but goalkeeper David De Gea made a save with his legs after Tyrell Malacia’s mistake presented Junior Howlett with the ball 10 yards out.
Casemiro’s quality came after the break. While he is best known for his break-up play and contributions in front of United’s penalty area, he used his experience to get forward from midfield and showed a nose to finish superbly past Antony.
His second came from close range as the home side wrote Reading into their area, before his international teammate Fred provided a splash of samba flair with a superb finish to ensure a comfortable passage for United. .
