Andre Onana raves about Man Utd team mate who has not been giving his best this season 

Andre Onana raves about Man Utd team mate who has not been giving his best this season 

Manchester United are back in the win column after beating Southampton 3-0 at St Marys’ on Saturday.

 

Erik ten Hag needed three points this weekend after suffering a disappointing defeat to Liverpool last time out.

 

Despite an early scare of Southampton winning a penalty, Manchester United managed to come out on top in what ended up being a very convincing win.

 

Andre Onana had the game-changing moment, saving Cameron Archer’s penalty at 0-0. Not long after, Matthijs de Ligt put United ahead with his first goal for the club.

 

Marcus Rashford added the second before Alejandro Garnacho once again proved to be a super sub, scoring off the bench in added time.

 

Now, speaking after the game, Onana has labelled one of his teammates as a world-beater.

 

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United clears the ball whilst under pressure from Yukinari Sugawara of Southampton during the Premier League match be…

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Andre Onana discusses Marcus Rashford form

Rashford scoring a goal here is vital for his season and was the first goal he has scored in 12 games. It gave him an instant confidence boost as he was close to adding a second.

 

 

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After the game, Onana was speaking to TNT Sports and could not hide his delight for his teammate.

 

 

“He had a tough season last year,” Onana explained.

 

“He was not in his best [form]. But today he showed himself, he showed he can [be] one of the best in the world.

 

“But that’s football, that’s life, sometimes you will struggle, and sometimes you will face difficulties, but it is not how many times you fall, it is how many times you stand back up.

 

 

“Today he came back again and scored a great goal, an important goal for us, and hopefully, he will score much more for us, I am very happy for him he needed this goal, we needed this goal and hopefully he will score much more for the team.”

 

Erik ten Hag spoilt for options on the wing at Manchester United

One of the big positives from this season so far has been the performances of the wingers at Manchester United.

 

Against Southampton all three were influential, with Amad Diallo scoring a match rating of 9/10 grabbing an assist and creating a whopping six chances.

 

Garnacho scored once again off the bench, further showing he is making an impact regularly this season, days after assisting for Argentina.

 

These two along with Rashford are all now starting to show form, and this will be like a dream for Ten Hag who last season struggled to get one winger to contribute regularly.

 

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Casemiro’s future at Manchester United has been cast into doubt after a disappointing start to the season.

 

When Manchester United signed Casemiro for £70m in 2022 it seemed like a risk worth taking. The Red Devils were in need of a defensive midfielder and the Brazilian was the best in the business.

 

Casemiro enjoyed a superb debut season but the drop in his performance levels over the last two seasons has been alarming and at 32 years old it doesn’t look as though they will pick back up again.

 

United wanted to sell Casemiro this summer and there was interest from the Saudi Pro League, but a deal never came to fruition. His performances towards the end of last season were getting worse and worse and, unfortunately, that has carried over into 2024/25.

 

Against Liverpool, Casemiro had his worst-ever game in a United shirt – perhaps the worst in his career. He was hooked off at half-time and lost his place in the starting lineup against Southampton.

 

Gary Neville compared Casemiro’s performance to his final display in a United shirt against West Brom, and he pointed out a “crazy” moment that sealed his fate.

 

Casemiro of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Fulham FC at Old Trafford on August 16, 202…

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Paul Scholes advice to Casemiro

Casemiro has become a real problem for United this season. He is a “big character” in the dressing room and is the club’s top earner, yet no supporter wants him near the starting lineup.

 

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has now given his verdict on Casemiro, and there is no one who knows the position better.

 

 

In an interview with Manchester Evening News, Scholes said: “There’s no doubt Casemiro is a brilliant player for what he’s done, but I just think when you get into your early 30s, you almost have to go into survival mode and start to look after yourself.

 

“I don’t think he does that. He runs too much, if anything. If he just stayed and played his position, I think he’d be alright. I think about when I got into my 30s and I thought I have to survive here.

 

 

“I’ll play in my position, I’ll stay here and not go forward that much, I’ll defend when I can, but when I played we had brilliant forward players so I didn’t really have to get involved with that, I could just stay back and relax, whereas he probably feels his forward players aren’t good.

 

 

“It seems like he’s got to help them out and I think that’s taking away from his own game and what he’s good at, which is just sitting there. He’s not asking me for advice, but if I could advise him, I’d say stay in your position, let everybody else around the pitch do the running.”

 

Scholes sums up his advice to Casemiro in four words: “Stay in your position”. The gaping holes in United’s midfield have been a huge issue for months now and Casemiro has certainly not helped.

 

What next for Casemiro?

It is difficult to picture Casemiro earning his starting spot back. Especially after Manuel Ugarte’s perfect debut against Southampton.

 

Kobbie Mainoo and Ugarte look set to become the first-choice midfield duo, and even beyond that duo, Christian Eriksen climbed up the pecking order with an impressive return against the Saints and Mason Mount will be back in contention when he returns from injury.

 

After failing to get a deal over the line for Casemiro in the summer, the club must try to offload him again in January. United cannot afford to continue paying such huge wages for a player who has dropped out of the starting lineup.

 

Erik ten Hag needs an energetic and lively midfield pairing for his system to work, and unfortunately for Casemiro he no longer fits the bill.

 

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