One Manchester United star excelled in the 0-0 draw against Manchester City on the weekend and Ruben Amorim must start him against Lyon.
Manchester United were held to a goalless draw against their rivals Manchester City on Sunday afternoon and might have felt unfortunate to not come away with a win.
Ruben Amorim’s side are continuing to take some positive steps forward in their general play but the story in the final third was the same.
Despite getting some good chances throughout, the Reds were wasteful once they reached the City penalty area.
In truth, even if the game was played for another 30 minutes, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the score stayed at 0-0.
Casemiro “at his best” vs City
One of the standout players for United on the day was Casemiro, who played 90 minutes in the middle of the midfield.
Manuel Ugarte was substituted midway through the second half while the Brazilian stayed on. He is seemingly starting to replace his replacement.
The ex-Real Madrid man was extremely busy in the engine room, with 13 duels won and 11 tackles in the match.
He also completed 29 of his 39 attempted passes – not the best completion rate but he was trying to play forward more than his midfield partner.
In fact, Squawka noted that the Brazilian was “at his best” after revealing that his 11 tackles in the Manchester derby was the most from any midfielder against Pep Guardiola’s side since the Spaniard joined City.
Casemiro must start over Ugarte vs Lyon
Casemiro has showcased in recent weeks that he’s much more comfortable playing with an adjusted role in the midfield.
As long as he’s not trying to press very high all game, he is still United’s best deeper midfielder and he should be starting against Lyon next week.
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Meanwhile, that leaves Ugarte with a potential demotion to the bench, as Bruno Fernandes should once again drop deeper to get an extra attacking player on the pitch.
Earlier this season it seemed like Casemiro would barely get a kick ahead of Ugarte, but things have quickly turned and the 33-year-old is the obvious option to start in the Europa League game.
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