Casemiro redeems himself in stunning performance at centre-back vs. Brighton and Hove Albion | OneFootball

Manchester United made hard work of it but ultimately managed to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 in their final match of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Second-half goals from Diogo Dalot and substitute Rasmus Hojlund were enough to secure the win for United and clinch all three points.

The result was however not enough to get United into European competitions through the league as they’ve finished in eighth, the lowest-ever finish for the club in its top-flight history.

The only chance the Red Devils now have is beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final next weekend. If they somehow manage to pull this off, they would then gain entry into the Europa League.

Against Brighton, United had less possession (45%) compared to the Seagulls (55%).

Erik ten Hag’s men managed just four shots on target from their total 11 cracks at goal. In comparison, Brighton had 17 shots but only three challenged Andre Onana in goal.

United strung 460 passes with a success rate of 85%. Brighton put together 547 passes with a completion rate of 90%.

One of the Reds’ better performers at the Amex was Casemiro. He has had a torrid time at centre-back and was badly exposed in games against Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

However, on this occasion, Casemiro performed much better alongside Lisandro Martinez who just returned from injury.

The Brazilian recently opened up on his struggles at the heart of United’s defence and admitted it’s not a role he’s particularly comfortable with as he’s best suited to playing in the middle of the park.

There were no problems for him against Brighton.

Casemiro registered five clearances and blocked as many shots from the Brighton players. He also won five tackles.

The five-time Champions League winner also made a crucial clearance off the line early into the second half, which prevented the rival team from breaking the deadlock.

He won five of the ten ground duels he delved into. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as dominant in the air. He lost all two of the aerial challenges he contested.

Casemiro successfully delivered 52 of the 58 passes he attempted to find his teammates with, managing an individual pass accuracy of 90%.

He had 78 touches of the ball to his name.

Six of the 10 long balls the South American tried to ping found their intended target.

(Stats obtained from Sofascore)

It was certainly a much better display for Casemiro, who will take a lot of confidence from it heading into the Wembley FA Cup final.

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