Casemiro’s wife has posted a message standing up for the Manchester United midfielder on social media after he endured a match to forget against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
The Brazilian 32-year-old was substituted at half-time by manager Erik ten Hag and replaced by 20-year-old debutant Toby Collyer after losing the ball in the build-up to both of Liverpool’s first-half goals, which were scored by Luis Diaz.
Mohamed Salah added another as Arne Slot’s visitors rounded off a dominant 3-0 victory, and Casemiro caught plenty of flack both from fans online and television pundits.
“It is a sad sight seeing what he’s going through out there,” Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports, before repeating a phrase he had previously used when advising Casemiro to walk away from the Premier League. “Leave football before the football leaves you.”
Speaking on Match of the Day, Shay Given described Casemiro’s errors as “two massive mistakes”.
“He gave the ball away 13 times in the first half alone,” Given said. “We know what he’s done in his career but he just looked miles off it today.”
Casemiro’s wife, Anna Mariana, posted a photo of his trophy collection – which includes five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with Real Madrid – to her half a million Instagram followers. She added a photo of her husband celebrating with his Manchester United teammates alongside the caption: “Always strong Casemiro, the biggest (heart).”
Casemiro’s place in the United team is now under severe threat after a troubled performance which coincided with the arrival of new signing Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan midfielder was paraded in front of the Old Trafford crowd before kick-off following a £42m deadline day transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, and is set to make his debut when United visit Southampton after the international break.
Ten Hag played down his decision to remove Casemiro at half-time and insisted the player had stayed to support his teammates.
“I met him after the game in the dressing room, so he didn’t leave the stadium at half-time,” Ten Hag said. “Why I subbed him was because we are 2-0 down against an opponent as Liverpool, with their qualities, they are very good. We had to take risks because we want to bounce back, then you need players in midfield to cover ground, therefore we put Toby Collyer on the pitch.
“I think that in football everyone has to take responsibility. I’m sure he is a great character and he won everything in his career that you can imagine. I am sure he will keep contributing to our team and Casemiro is always winning so he will be there.”