Former midfielder Paul Scholes waxed lyrical about Casemiro's importance following Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off tie.
After falling 1-0 down just five minutes into the start of the second half, United flipped the contest on its head in the space of just nine minutes, drawing level through Marcus Rashford's 22nd goal of the season and then getting their noses in front through a Jules Kounde own-goal, with Rashford again at the heart of it. Barcelona did manage to get themselves back on level terms, courtesy of Raphinha's cross that went through everybody and found the net.
Though United were left slightly disappointed at failing to hold on and record a famous victory, which would have resulted in them heading into next Thursday's second leg at Old Trafford in an even stronger position, it was a performance of great encouragement. They were the better side for long spells and created more than enough chances to win the game.
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The Reds were, of course, helped by the return of Casemiro, who had missed each of the last two Premier League fixtures through suspension, with the Brazilian producing a starring performance in midfield. He frequently won possession back for the Reds and enabled United's attackers to work their magic. And for Scholes, the former Real Madrid man's impact cannot be underestimated, with the former United man hailing his influence.
"The biggest plus is Casemiro," Scholes told BT Sport. "As soon as Casemiro came into this team, the team [was] transformed.
"He's almost like the manager on the football pitch - he's like a coach, doing the manager's job on there. Especially with young players coming into the team today.
"I can't tell you how important it is to have that player in the middle of the pitch who's so dominant and stays there, plays the position perfectly well. It gives everyone, the attacking players, it just gives them freedom.
"You know you don't have to be running back and sprinting - well, you do sprint back, of course you do - but you've just got that licence to get forward and be creative, because you know there's that solid base of great experience who's played for Brazil, Real Madrid, won so many trophies - it's just brilliant to know what you've got behind you."
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