Ruben Amorim defends Casemiro as he insists Brazilian showed he 'cares' with reckless red card against Chelsea

Ruben Amorim put up a passionate defence of Casemiro as he insisted that the Brazilian showed he "cares" with his reckless red card against Chelsea. The Brazilian midfielder had already found the net to double United’s lead, only to undo his own good work with a reckless challenge just before half-time. Already carrying a yellow, he lunged into another rash foul, leaving the referee with no choice but to send him packing.

Brazilian hero turns villain before the break
Casemiro's dismissal shifted the momentum. What should have been a comfortable night for United turned into a nervy second half as Chelsea eyed a second-half comeback.

AFP
Chalobah goal sets up squeaky finish
The man advantage gave the visitors hope. United, who had looked untouchable for most of the first half, suddenly found themselves pegged back. Chelsea pushed forward with renewed belief and, deep into the second period, Trevoh Chalobah popped up with a goal to reduce the deficit. That strike sparked a frantic final ten minutes where every Chelsea attack had the United faithful on edge. The Red Devils eventually held on, but Casemiro’s moment of madness ensured it was far from straightforward.
Amorim leaps to Casemiro’s defence
Amorim was quick to protect his midfield general. Speaking to BBC Sport, he revealed Casemiro was taking the incident harder than anyone.
"He's [feeling] worse than me," he said. "We won so I will forget a little bit and he will suffer because he's a top professional. He understands what he did. He is experienced enough that that play should not be played like that. He cares too much."
When pressed on whether Casemiro’s rashness was down to pressure, Amorim offered a different take.
“It’s hard to say. With Casemiro, that’s the pressure," he said. "The guy has five Champions Leagues. I feel more pressure on some young guys sometimes. But maybe it’s because Casemiro cares - we scored one and then he has that tackle. Then they have maybe one time that they passed the half of the pitch and we want to win the ball right away. So I think sometimes it’s a little bit, not the pressure, they want it too much in that moment. That is not a bad thing.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Follow GOAL on Google

AFP
Casemiro to miss Brentford clash
United can breathe a sigh of relief that the red card was for two bookable offences rather than a straight dismissal. It means Casemiro will serve just a one-match suspension and will miss next Saturday’s lunchtime clash away at Brentford. For Amorim, that’s a small mercy as he looks to steady the ship after a rocky start to the season.

Virgin Media

EE

Sky Sports

HBO Max

NOW

Virgin Media

EE

Brazilian hero turns villain before the break

Chalobah goal sets up squeaky finish

Amorim leaps to Casemiro’s defence

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Casemiro to miss Brentford clash