Man Utd legend admits he was "shocked" by Casemiro display

Karan Tejwani

16 Sept 2022 07:40 BST
3 min read

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has admitted he was taken by surprise by Casemiro’s impressive display against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.

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The Brazilian midfielder came on as a half-time substitute and did well in his 45-minute appearance, much to the shock of Scholes, who was full of praise for him.

Casemiro only signed for Manchester United in the summer transfer window for a fee worth around £60 million, but has been unable to break into Erik ten Hag’s starting team.

Instead, he has only played off the bench and made one start in total, with Ten Hag choosing the continuity of Scott McTominay over him, leaving Casemiro to fight for his place.

Scholes praises Casemiro display

However, Scholes, speaking after the game about Casemiro’s display, admitted he was unsure about Casemiro’s progressive style before watching him do well in Moldova.

Speaking after the game, Scholes said: "His awareness, I love this pass around the corner. He surprised me a little bit with his forward passing, his range of passing, I thought he was more of a winner, getting the ball back in midfield.”

The Englishman then admitted that he didn’t think Casemiro had that in his locker, seeing as it was Luka Modric and Toni Kroos who mainly did the forward passing instead of him for Real Madrid.

Casemiro in 45 mins vs. Sheriff Tiraspol:

90% pass accuracy
58 touches
37 passes completed
6/8 long balls completed
4/6 tackles won
3 interceptions
1 clearance

New sheriff in town. 🤠 pic.twitter.com/Bh5gG3cv3s
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 15, 2022

He then felt he would eventually break his way into the first team ahead of McTominay, believing he had far too much quality to be sat on the bench for Manchester United.

Scholes said: "It was Kroos and Modric last year, he has more to his game and showed more of a range to his game. That’s his first game for sometime, I think he will eventually, with his quality he’s got, work his way into the team."

Manchester United’s next match will be after the international break as they face free-scoring Manchester City in a league game at the Etihad Stadium at the start of October.