Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag admitted that the "team needed" Casemiro to be substituted off at half-time in a brutally honest verdict of his midfielder's performance in their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
"It is what the team needed," Ten Hag told Sky Sports when asked about taking off Casemiro. "You know when you are 2-0 down against Liverpool you have to take more risks, it will be open. When you are losing you have to take more risks. I have to give compliments to the team. You have to keep fighting and sticking together."
United icon Gary Neville warned that Ten Hag may face "repercussions" of taking a senior player off so early into their drubbing, despite Casemiro's disappointing performance, but the Dutch head coach has insisted that there are no issues between boss and player.
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"You know the game and he knows the game," Ten Hag explained. "He will go on and we will go on. He's a great player. We will continue this season to improve the team and the players."
Following Manuel Ugarte's arrival in a £51million transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, Casemiro will be looking over his shoulder regarding his United future after being taken out of the firing line in favour of young debutant Toby Collyer.
But Ten Hag believes that the former Real Madrid star can get back to his best: "He improved and has shown so often that he is a great character. We all have seen great moments from him and him be decisive in midfield. He will show that again and will bounce back."
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Rumours had circulated on social media that Casemiro, following his brutal substitution, left Old Trafford at half-time in what would have been a damning response.
However, Ten Hag confirmed that the Brazilian was in the dressing room with the rest of the squad after the match. He told talkSPORT: "It's not true. He was in the dressing room. I just met him."
Despite yet another beating at the hands of Liverpool, Ten Hag insisted that there were still positives to be found. "You can see the xG (expected goals) we didn't concede as many goals (as the 7-1 defeat last year)," the boss assessed.
"I don't think we are in the same pattern. It was sometimes open and we took risks. But I don't want to talk about this after a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool. Well done Liverpool. We have to be humble and take it.
