New Delhi: Nearly two years after his infamous remark criticising Casemiro, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher on Sunday admitted that football has not left the Manchester United midfielder. Carragher made a U-turn on Casemiro after the Brazilian star’s stellar display in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Casemiro scored the opener for United in the game and was sublime in the midfield as the Red Devils won their third Premier League game in a row under interim manager Michael Carrick. Speaking after United’s victory, Carragher admitted he was wrong in his assessment of Casemiro and insisted his old criticism of the midfielder no longer holds.
Carragher’s comments came during a post-match show on Sky Sports, where he analysed Casemiro’s performance in the game and lauded the Brazilian for sparking a remarkable turnaround. Carragher highlighted how Casemiro also played a pivotal role in United’s victories over Manchester City and Arsenal in their last two matches before his magnificent display against Fulham on Sunday.
“It is now fair to say the football has not left him. Considering what he’s producing this season in the Premier League, and not just Fulham at home, you think what he did last week against Arsenal away and Manchester City at home,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
Adding a touch of humour, Carragher insisted he wouldn’t mind if Casemiro was to hit back at him over his punditry, suggesting that the Manchester United midfielder looks a completely different player this season. Casemiro has scored five goals for United in 22 matches in the Premier League this season, his highest tally since joining the club in 2022.
“Casemiro is well within his rights to, if he wants to come back at me and say, ‘leave the punditry before the punditry’s left you!’ He could definitely get one of those back in. Credit to him, he looks a completely different player,” said Carragher.
“He looks like a different player physically as well. Even when I said that, you looked at him and he looked like an old man coming to the end of his time as a player and whether he let himself go a little bit, or now he’s being ultra professional, physically, he looks completely different,” he added.