How all-time great Casemiro revived his Man Utd career

It was the lowest point of Casemiro's Manchester United career. A 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle on 30 December 2024.

That night, his team-mate Joshua Zirkzee was sarcastically cheered off by his own supporters, substituted after just 33 minutes.

But the common consensus that night was that if Casemiro had been brought off at that point, the reaction would have been worse.

The 33-year-old didn't play for a month after that, consigned to the bench for the following five games.

Yet if there was a debate now as to which player United could least afford to lose for the rest of the season, Casemiro would be near the top of the list.

Once, the Brazilian looked leggy and exposed in midfield. Now, he shines. The midfielder will leave Old Trafford when his contract expires at the end of the season - and it looks as if he will do so on a positive note. How has the veteran turned it around?

'Form is temporary, class is permanent,' the football adage goes. But form is dictated by a number of factors.

A footballer's performances can be affected by the side they play for, their tactics, their team-mates. Form is about situation.

So it can look as if a player has become worse - when in reality, the conditions around them have changed, limiting their chance to thrive.

This season, Casemiro has found himself in the situations that get the best out of him, more often.

When Ruben Amorim was United's head coach, between November 2024 and January 2026, Casemiro had to play in a physically demanding role.

But his pre-season preparation was key in matching those demands this season, with the midfielder visibly leaner and stronger.

"Pre-season [is] a time to really grind, and really do some real work, then during the season you can focus more on the games themselves," he said about his summer.

Amorim also deserves some credit for improving the squad's fitness this season too, a notable strength of his.

When Liverpool were looking at successors to Jurgen Klopp, one area they looked at was an ability to keep their players fit, at which Arne Slot ranked second only to the Portuguese manager.

The fact United haven't played in European competition this season and were eliminated early from the domestic cups - meaning a total of just 40 games - will have helped protect Casemiro's legs in his final season at United too.

In his short time as United head coach since replacing the sacked Amorim in January, Michael Carrick has improved the conditions that Casemiro has found himself in on the pitch.

Defensively, moving from Amorim's 5-2-3 shape, which required players to press high at times, to a more conservative and compact 4-4-2 shape has reduced the distances he has to cover.

Admittedly, United have played teams that look to dominate the ball, but under Carrick, Casemiro is averaging 10.3km per 90 minutes compared to the 10.7km per 90 minutes he ran under Amorim.

In wide areas, particularly during the 2-0 win over Manchester City on 17 January, the full-back, winger and striker near the ball would come over to apply pressure alongside the closest United central midfielder. This reduced the distances Casemiro had to defend alone, allowing him to win the ball more effectively.

Conserving his energy and making the most of his actions is a theme that continues into his duelling statistics under Carrick. Casemiro has contested an average of 9.5 duels per 90 minutes under Carrick - compared to 12.6 under Amorim. His success rate, however, has jumped up from 51% to 58%.

In attack, Casemiro boasts five goals and two assists in the Premier League this season, one goal away from his most prolific league campaign ever.

With more non-penalty goals than Viktor Gyokeres, Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka, Casemiro's contributions in attack have put United in contention for Champions League qualification.

Four of his goals have come directly from set-pieces or the phase of play immediately after.

This season, United have become the most efficient scorers from set-pieces. They have scored eight per 100 set-pieces in the Premier League - something Amorim's assistant Carlos Fernandes deserves praise for.

From set-pieces, Casemiro has typically been found at the back post, using a burst of speed to get free of his marker before heading the ball home, as he did in the 3-2 win against Fulham last Sunday.

United have often paired Casemiro's back-post position with having a nearby team-mate use their body to provide a 'screen' - blocking opponents from getting close to the Brazilian as the ball floats over their head.

In addition to his goals, his general play on the ball looks far better this season.

Casemiro has a tendency to play direct passes often - which can be a good or bad trait depending on a team's tactics.

With Amorim in charge, players were encouraged to execute certain passing routines that ended with the midfielders playing direct passes quickly to attackers running in behind.

That made games more end-to-end. But if the defenders didn't step up as passes were played, it left the two midfielders with huge spaces to cover.

Pairing Casemiro with a strong runner in Bruno Fernandes helped mitigate some of these concerns but under Carrick, general play has been more measured.

The defensive midfield and attacking lines are closer together - with the team moving more collectively. With this more controlled approach in attack, Casemiro's direct passing becomes a necessary risk rather than something that exposes the weaknesses of the team.

For Matheus Cunha's goal against Fulham, the ball moved from the right side of the pitch to Casemiro in the centre. Casemiro turned his body and head to face towards the left, disguising his intentions - causing Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi to shift that way.

This opened up space for Casemiro to play a through ball, resulting in Cunha's goal.

During Casemiro's worst run of form, questions were asked of his ability on the ball, under pressure, in build-up play.

This season, Amorim often skipped short build-up, with goalkeeper Senne Lammens more suited to playing long. These more chaotic moments of the game suited Casemiro who often read where the ball would land, winning second balls proactively.

Against Fulham, Carrick asked United to build out from the back at times, while accounting for Casemiro's strengths and weaknesses.

In build-up, Casemiro peeled wide at times. This dragged his marker, Iwobi, into an unfamiliar position while opening up a passing lane centrally for Kobbie Mainoo to receive the ball.

Finding the more technically secure player under pressure is a sensible use of personnel. Casemiro then moved closer to Mainoo, asking for the ball, under less pressure.

Casemiro was used in a similar way his most successful spell as a player at Real Madrid. Head coaches Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti both asked Luka Modric and Toni Kroos to drop deep and build up play, pushing Casemiro further forward when Real had the ball, minimising the number of times he was in situations where he might struggle.

Fairly or not, the way a footballer finishes their career tends to dictate how they are remembered.

Raheem Sterling, for instance, made his debut at 17, and has won numerous trophies, but perhaps gets less respect than he deserves because of how the past few years of his career have petered out.

By comparison, Modric's first Champions League appearance came at the age of 25. The Croat has had much success and now, at 40 years old, is still performing well for AC Milan - and is globally perceived as one of the greats.

For a player as accomplished as Casemiro, central to one of Real Madrid's greatest eras, there was a genuine risk of his reputation suffering after last season.

The manner of his revival - helped by his buying into Carrick's use of him - has laid the platform for a much happier conclusion to his career in England.

With United five points off third place, and with 42 points to play for, the serial winner will hope to leave Manchester United with no regrets.