Paul Ince was right. Casemiro will not be judged on games like this, a fourth-round FA Cup tie against Reading on a soggy night in Manchester.
‘He’s a fantastic player,’ said the Reading manager, who knows a thing or two about bossing the midfield at United. ‘But it’s important you have someone who can go against the big guns and perform the way he did against us — that’s how you judge a Manchester United player.’
Still, it is to Casemiro’s credit that he turned up as usual. Real Madrid or Reading, the Brazilian always seems to be on his game.