Although Man Utd won 2-1 against Crystal Palace, Casemiro’s suspension certainly made Red Devils fans unhappy.
In the 22nd round of the Premier League last night, Man Utd had to work very hard to win against Crystal Palace. They took the lead by 2 goals, but Casermiro’s red card in the 71st minute opened the door for the visitors to equalize.
In the last 20 minutes of injury time, the Old Trafford team had to buckle up, but Palace’s massive attack could preserve the score.
For Casemiro, being sent off last night marked a sad milestone in the career of the five-time Champions League winner. Specifically, according to Opta, this is the first time in his career playing in Europe’s top 5 leagues that Casemiro has received a direct red card (336 matches for Real Madrid and 30 matches for Manchester United in all competitions).
Worth mentioning, the red card came from an unnecessary handling phase at all. Specifically, in the scuffle between players from both teams due to Jeffrey Schlupp’s tackle on Antony in the 67th minute, Casemiro grabbed Will Hughes by the neck with both hands. The referee then consults the VAR and shows the red card directly.
According to the rules of the English Premier League, players who are directly red carded will be suspended for the next 3 matches in the leagues of the English Football Federation. Those are the two matches against Leeds and the trip to Leicester, both in the Premier League.
Although not strong opponents, Casemiro’s absence also put great pressure on MU’s midfield when they just lost Eriksen to long-term injury. Thus, in the next 3 matches, it is likely that coach Ten Hag will have to use Fred, McTominay or rookie Sabitzer instead.
This is definitely bad news for MU and their fans too. On Twitter, many Red Devils supporters expressed displeasure with Casemiro’s disastrous red card.
User Aidan Walsh commented harshly, “Honestly it’s a stupid act from Casemiro. What is he thinking? The slow motion shows it’s silly.”
“Casemiro is too immature..unnecessary” complained a fan named Sammydee. Meanwhile, KoupéBallr fans expressed concern for Ten Hag’s system in the next three matches: ” When Casemiro is out, we can’t even play football.”
They should feel lucky, though, that Casemiro’s suspension won’t affect United’s Europa League away first leg against Barcelona on February 16 or beyond, the League Cup final against Barcelona. Newcastle on February 26.
