It was almost as Cristiano Ronaldo might have imagined. The serial Champions League winner, the Real Madrid great, the best player on the pitch, salvaging a point with a glorious, dramatic, looping header. Except, as Ronaldo languished in exile, banished from the squad for his insubordination on Wednesday, it was Casemiro celebrating his first Manchester United goal.
He deserved it. He was arguably the player of the match against both Tottenham and Chelsea, but if he had a rival for that title at Stamford Bridge, it was Kepa Arrizabalaga, who almost clawed Casemiro’s header to safety, whose resistance had ensured Chelsea preserved parity in a first half United dominated and who was seconds from a sixth successive clean sheet.
