Gary Neville spotted Manchester United midfielder getting Casemiro furious with one of his teammates during their Premier League clash with Luton Town on Sunday.
Casemiro's heated moment happened just after he avoided a red card during the first half of the game at Kenilworth Road, where Manchester United secured a 2-1 victory.
The Brazilian midfielder, who was already on a yellow card, was certainly lucky not to be sent off when he appeared to take Luton's Ross Barkley out in the middle of the park. Casemiro received the ball from Alejandro Garnacho but the former was unable to control the ball. When Barkley snatched the possession, a flustered Casemiro dived in and brought the Luton midfielder down.
While the referee offered the home side a free-kick, he did not slap Casemiro with a second yellow card, which could have seen the Brazilian star being sent off.
Casemiro furious at Garnacho
Casemiro supposedly blamed his young teammate Garnacho following the incident, according to former Manchester United defender Neville, who was on the commentary panel. Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville suggested that Casemiro lost his cool with the man who played him the ball.
"It's symptomatic of Manchester United's lack of control of the ball. Bounces up off his knee and then he just lunges forward and he's a lucky boy. He's lucky.
"He's ruffled, they're all ruffled. He's supposed to be the experienced one and he's shouting. Who's he shouting at? Garnacho? He's absolutely ripping Garnacho apart, which to be fair, it wasn't Garnacho's fault. The ball into him was fine," added Neville.
The game in Luton on Sunday saw five yellow cards given. Two of those were shown to Manchester United's Harry Maguire and Casemiro inside the first 45 minutes. It was not surprising when Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag replaced the experienced duo at the half-time break.
When reporters asked Ten Hag about the substitutions after the game, Ten Hag replied: "I saw the reaction from the referee and thought they could go off with the next one. With [Scott] McTominay and [Jonny] Evans we have good replacements. Don't take the risk. I thought it was the right decision."
Erik ten Hag backs Casemiro
The yellow card that Casemiro received against Luton for a foul on the home captain Carlton Morris, was his eighth booking in his last 10 matches. Amid claims that Casemiro should have received the second yellow card for bringing Luton's Barkley down, Ten Hag defended the Brazilian player, saying the player is often unfairly penalised by officials.
"Even when he is not touching opponents he gets booked. Often the first moment of the game. I think it's crazy and it was so unfair that first booking. That second could have been so that's why I took him off. He touches an opponent and he gets booked," Ten Hag told reporters at the post-match conference.
Casemiro, into his second season at Manchester United, got sent off twice last campaign, against Crystal Palace and Southampton. He was banned for a total of eight matches, tarnishing an otherwise excellent debut campaign at Old Trafford. Casemiro's 2023-24 season has been injury-marred as he has missed around 17 games due to a hamstring injury he suffered in October last year.
The 31-year-old midfielder has scored four goals and provided two assists in 17 matches in all competitions for Manchester United.
"You can see now he is back in the team he gives so much calmness and organisation. I am very happy that since he is back the team has lifted the levels," Ten Hag said when he was asked about Casemiro's recent performances.
Manchester United are currently having the best run of the season. They have won their last four Premier League games and are closing in on top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. The Old Trafford club will be looking to maintain their winning run when they host Fulham next Saturday.
