"All top players want to play every minute of every game" - Rio Ferdinand explains why Manchester United star will be 'fuming' despite 1-0 Leicester win

Rio Ferdinand explains why Manchester United star will be
Rio Ferdinand explains why Manchester United star will be 'fuming' despite 1-0 Leicester win

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes that new signing Casemiro will be unhappy with starting off the bench yet again in a 1-0 win over Leicester City on September 1.

The Brazilian is yet to start a game for the Red Devils since he joined for about £63.5 million this summer.

Speaking to BT Sport (via Mirror), the defender-turned-pundit explained that a top player like Casemiro wouldn’t take too kindly to being benched, saying:

"He [Casemiro] will be fuming that he is not starting because all top players want to play every minute of every game. But, ten Hag said that in the window, they have bought the right players in the right areas, and he is certainly one of those."

Casemiro can however take heart in the likely cause of his benching at the moment: The former Real Madrid midfield general has yet to fully gel with the team at this point. The Brazilian has only been at the club for just over a week now and will likely play a regular part in proceedings as the season progresses.

Casemiro will however be mindful of Erik ten Hag’s tendency to bench players irrespective of their price tag or status as he has already shown at the club. Club captain and £80 million signing Harry Maguire and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo remain attached to the bench as well. They look unlikely to get into the starting lineup if the Dutch manager decides to stick to his preferred players to win games.

With three wins in a row for Manchester United, Ten Hag may not be looking at making too many changes to a squad that has won consecutive games for him.

How the manager will proceed may be dictated by injuries and fitness issues, but time will tell who will maintain their spots in the starting lineup.

Players like Casemiro and Ronaldo may not be happy about having to start from the bench, with the Portuguese forward failing to start the last three games. However, the situation has been worse for Harry Maguire, who has remained on the bench without getting a minute to play since Manchester United's 4-0 loss to Brentford.


Manchester United beat Leicester City 1-0

The Red Devils were on hand to take three points away from Leicester City, thanks to effective defending to keep a clean sheet after a Jadon Sancho goal.

The young winger scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute after the Leicester defense saw a short spell of poor concentration. A quick throw-in from the Red Devils turned into a counter-attack that the Foxes were unprepared for. A through-ball from Marcus Rashford met Sancho, and the England international ran it past the goalkeeper before putting it in the back of the net.

Ten Hag will hope that his Manchester United side can take this form into their next game against current league leaders Arsenal on September 4.

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