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Manchester United suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of West Ham United on Sunday afternoon at the London Stadium.
United fashioned multiple clear-cut opportunities, especially in the first half, but failed to make any of them stick. The likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes all had chances to find the back of the net but failed to hit the target.
The Red Devils were punished in the 74th minute as West Ham took the lead through Crysencio Summerville. Casemiro would go on to restore parity less than 10 minutes later.
It seemed like both sides would have to settle for a share of the points but a controversial refereeing decision saw the Hammers handed a penalty. Jarrod Bowen made no mistake from the spot to ensure the London club clinched all three points.
The result has left United in 14th place in the Premier League table, just seven points above the relegation zone and with a minus three goal difference.
One United player who stood out head and shoulders above the rest was Casemiro. He was restored to the team after being named on the bench against Fenerbahce.
Beyond his goal, the Brazilian had 96 touches of the ball to his name and successfully found his teammates with 60 of the 70 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass accuracy of 86%. Two of his passes were key passes.
He tried to connect with two crosses and seven long balls. He found his intended target with one cross and all seven long balls that he pinged.
Casemiro created one big chance – for Fernandes in the opening 45 minutes.
The five-time Champions League winner attempted two shots, both of which were on target and tested Lukasz Fabianski.
The United midfielder completed the one dribble he embarked one. He won three of the six ground duels he delved into and came out on top in four of the five aerial challenges he contested.
Casemiro also made an amazing seven clearances and also contributed two tackles and one interception.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
It was certainly a big display from the 32-year-old but he will undoubtedly be disappointed that it didn’t count for much in the grand scheme of things.
