Casemiro and Christian Eriksen alliance forms cornerstone of Manchester United revival

Each has given a level of penetrative passing that McTominay rarely offered and Fred only intermittently. Eriksen’s assist was his sixth of the Premier League season: only Kevin de Bruyne has more and, since he returned to the division in February, just the Belgian, the Dane and Dejan Kulusevski are in double figures. Part of that stems from his set-piece specialism.

If there was a focus on free-kick takers last season, it was when Cristiano Ronaldo displaced Bruno Fernandes on those within shooting range. There has been rather less attention on some of the dead-ball situations from wider positions but Eriksen has felt an upgrade on Fernandes from the flanks. Rashford scored from Eriksen’s corner against Nottingham Forest, Casemiro from his free kick against Bournemouth. “The quality on the ball was obviously big,” the beaten manager, Gary O’Neil, said.

Casemiro of Manchester United celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal with teammate Christian Eriksen

Which tends to be Eriksen’s forte. If United’s midfield now promises a blend of ability and nous that was lacking for swathes of recent seasons, Ten Hag detected a sloppiness in the closing stages against Bournemouth: certainly after Eriksen came off, though perhaps when Bournemouth had three chances in swift succession before his removal.

“We ended up with two departments, one attacking, one defending and a big space in between,” the manager lamented. “It cost a lot of energy. It was like a tennis match. You don’t want to play tennis, you want to play football.”

It felt out of character for this United; arguably in the closing stages, they missed Eriksen’s intelligence. If Fred was sent on to quieten the game down, he may have had the opposite effect. While Eriksen has low numbers for many a facet of a holding midfielder’s job, for tackles and interceptions, he can compensate with positional discipline and a capacity to read the game. Casemiro tends to be the nullifier and as a duo with differing attributes, they have made a difference. United have won 10 of the last 12 games they have started together.

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Casemiro of Manchester United walks off after victory over Bournemouth

Their alliance has formed the cornerstone of a revival. That loss of control, brief as it was, even as it was not reflected in the scoreline, highlighted what United have gained this season: a conviction, an air of assurance, some moments of mastery from a new-look combination of relative old-timers who know their game and the game. And that game is football, not tennis.

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