Manchester United were once again comfortably beaten 0-3, this time by Newcastle United as the Red Devils exited the Carabao Cup at the pre-quarterfinal stage.
An ever-rising injury toll aside, what has let United and manager Erik ten Hag down the most is the underperformance from their big-name players who shone bright last campaign.
Chief among them being Casemiro, who has looked like a shadow of the player who joined the club last season and at times, single-handedly raised the level of the squad.
For some reason, this term, the Brazilian has concentrated more on the attacking aspect of his game while abandoning his primary post of guarding the backline.
Casemiro poor defensively
This has led to United conceding a lot from cutbacks on the edge of the box with the former Real Madrid superstar unable to cover as he has been caught further forward.
He was once again poor on the night against the Magpies and was hooked at half-time for the second game running.
But by concentrating on the attacking part of his game, the 31-year-old has emerged as the unlikely top-scorer for the team so far with four goals in all competitions.
Most of his strikes have come via set-piece routines and the defensive midfielder lauded the impact of Eric Ramsay, who is the club’s set-piece coach, for the upturn in goals from dead-ball situations.
In an interview for the United Review, the 31-year-old praised the work of the coach appointed by former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He said, “There’s no doubt that this [scoring from set pieces] is something we’ve been working on a lot.
“Eric Ramsay works hard on dead-ball situations, and he’s at the club for this very reason. He deserves credit for the work he’s done, indicating to us where we can hurt them the most. I think that the coaching staff have played a big role in this regard.
“Of course, those stats you mentioned are important [four goals in 11 games], especially for me given that I’m a defensive midfielder, but anything I can contribute to the team is really important to me. I’m always trying to help out.
“Obviously, my main aim isn’t to score. I have other duties. However, if I can chip in with goals from set-pieces and contribute to the team in this way then that counts for a lot.
Offensively solid Casemiro hails Ramsay
“The credit shouldn’t just be given to the players and the specific player who scores, but the coaching staff as well.”
Even in his absence, the team has fared little better with Sofyan Amrabat struggling to adapt to the fast-paced nature of the Premier League.
United fans will be hoping Ten Hag can help Casemiro regain his form and somehow help United salvage this campaign which is going from bad to worse each week.
The defending champions are already out of the Carabao Cup and an exit from the Champions League at the group stages would make it difficult for Ten Hag to survive in the hot seat for too long.