Manchester United midfielder Casemiro was in sublime form last night as the Red Devils secured a convincing 3-1 win over Reading in the FA Cup fourth round.
Erik ten Hag’s side were overwhelming favourites to beat the Championship outfit but they had to wait until the 54th minute to break the deadlock through Casemiro.
The Brazilian latched onto Antony’s through ball in the box before scooping his effort beyond the keeper.
Just minutes later, the 30-year-old doubled United’s lead. His low shot from outside the box found the right bottom corner of the net with a slight deflection along the way.
Fred made it 3-0 for the Red Devils in the 66th minute before Amadou Mbengue’s consolation strike for Reading. Casemiro was simply sensational at Old Trafford yet again.
Aside from his goal involvements, Casemiro managed 71 touches with 45 successful passes. He won an impressive eight duels and four tackles alongside three key passes.
The former Real Madrid man has been playing with full of confidence and yesterday was probably his best performance in the United shirt, though the club were expected to win.
Ten Hag had the option of playing a heavily rotated side for the encounter, but the Dutch tactician went with his best combination in midfield and attack against the Royals.
United will now shift their focus to the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest. It won’t be surprising if Ten Hag goes with a strong line-up again.
However, we anticipate a few more changes this time around. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez could come back into the XI while Marcus Rashford and Antony could be rested.
Christian Eriksen could be sidelined for a while following his ankle injury last night.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com and SofaScore.com
