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Manchester United ended up surrendering meekly to Manchester City in the Manchester derby and were on the receiving end of a 1-3 scoreline at the Etihad on Sunday.
The result did not reveal the full picture as the visitors were by far the poorer team on the day even though they did take the lead.
Marcus Rashford’s eighth minute screamer aside, the Red Devils had very few chances of note and looked like a team that had come looking for a way to somehow escape with a point.
There was no real conviction and the players looked like they were scared to touch the ball and nobody showed the courage to hold on to the ball and play football.
Gulf in class
The gulf in class was there for all to see and while it did look like Erik ten Hag would slowly close the gap after a promising first season, this campaign the plan has gone for a toss and the team have regressed further than they have ever been.
Casemiro, who had a decent game against Pep Guardiola’s side, stated begrudgingly that Manchester City are the team to beat and the 20-time English league champions need to try and mirror what City have done in recent seasons.
“That is the big objective, we also have to be humble to accept that they are at the moment, not in history, as the history of Manchester United speaks for itself, but they are today the team to beat. Everyone wants to beat City.
“We have a mirror here, which is City, and they have been doing a great job,” the midfield general told ESPN Brasil.
The former Real Madrid superstar revealed that the plan was to try and hit City on the break and while United did create a few half-chances, it was nowhere near enough on a difficult day.
“We started well. We know that City like to have control of the game, but we were always comfortable. Of course, when they press you, they always create opportunities, but we also had some opportunities to make counterattacks. It ended up that We went back to the 2nd half and conceded the goal very early,” he argued.
Injuries have played a major role
“Afterwards, we tried to have a few more counterattacks to play, as this was our proposal, a challenge for us to play like this, on the counterattack, and unfortunately it didn’t fit. We ended up conceding two more goals on a pitch that is very difficult to play on,” he pointed out.
Injuries to key players like Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund have not helped and the Brazilian made it clear that it was no excuse for so many poor games but the scale of the injury crisis has been quite unprecedented.
“It’s difficult… Especially at a club like United, you always end up having this ‘excuse’, as we say in Brazil, but it’s the truth. Every year, there are more than eight, 10 injuries. It’s difficult, it’s always making it difficult,” he said.
“We had several important players out today, like Rasmus (Højlund). When you play for Manchester United, you have to have an important group, but when you lose so many players like that, you always end up feeling it. We are trying, we are working hard and we are trying to do my best to be as high as possible in the table”, he added.
The hope that fans and it seems players have as well is for INEOS to fix this once-great institution that has been left to rot by the Glazers.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning to change the structure at the club and he has already spoken to the players and it seems for the first time in a long time, there is genuine optimism surrounding the future.
Future under INEOS
The British billionaire has already insisted that his aim is to knock City off their perch and Casemiro is hopeful that such a future will come to pass.
“And of course, when people from outside arrive, who want to add and evolve the club’s level, it is always important. It is very clear that the company [ INEOS ] and the new owners want to do this.
“We have a mirror here, which is City, which has been doing a great job. I hope they [ new owners ] arrive and grow together with us, as it is important for the club to have people who want to grow here,” he concluded.
Whether he remains to see that future remains up in the air with INEOS keen on getting rid of his high wages with the new minority owners said to be unimpressed with the money the club threw at the Brazil international to make him come to Old Trafford in 2022.
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