How the remarkable Casemiro restarted his career at Manchester United

In addition to his goals, his overall ball play looks much better this season.

Casemiro tends to play direct passes more often, which can be a good or bad trait depending on the team’s tactics.

With Amorim in charge, the players were encouraged to implement some passing actions which ended with the midfielders making quick direct passes to the forwards running in behind.

This made the games more end-to-end. But if the defenders did not advance during the passing game, it left the midfielders with large spaces to cover.

The pairing of Casemiro with powerful sprinter Bruno Fernandes has helped alleviate some of these concerns, but under Carrick, the overall play has become more measured.

The defensive midfield and attacking lines are close together – with the team moving more collectively. With this more controlled approach to attack, Casemiro’s direct pass becomes a necessary threat rather than something that exposes the team’s weaknesses.

For Matheus Cunha’s goal against Fulham, the ball moved from the right side of the pitch to Casemiro in the middle. Casemiro turned his body and head to the left, disguising his intentions – causing Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi to turn in this way.

This opened up space for Casemiro to play a through ball, which led to Cunha’s goal.