Erik Ten Hag snubs Eriksen and Casemiro as he names one important player in his midfield
Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag has finally named one important player in his midfield as he explains why he has not been starting midfielder Casemiro.
Casemiro was a £70m summer signing from Real Madrid and was expected to walk into the Manchester United XI.
But the Brazil international has not been starting games since his arrival from Spain.
United face Cypriot side Omonia in their third Group E match on Thursday, and boss Ten Hag was quizzed about Casemiro ahead of the fixture.
“We will play tomorrow our best team, we have to construct a team because we want a competitive culture,” Ten Hag said.
“It had nothing to do with Casemiro, it had all to do with Scott [McTominay]. When he wasn’t in the team at Brentford, we lost.
“Casemiro will have an important role, we know his background, the titles he’s won, you see every day in training.”
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On another note, when reacting to the weekend defeat at Etihad stadium he only thanked the Manchester City team and manager, Guardiola for teaching his side a lesson in the derby.
United were 4-0 down at halftime at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and eventually lost 6-3.
Ten Hag has now admitted the result was a “reality check” after wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.
However, the Dutchman expects a response when his team travels to Cyprus to face Omonia FC in the Europa League on Thursday.
“When you beat Arsenal and Liverpool, now we get a reality check with Manchester City,” Ten Hag said.
“We know we have to step up. So thank you for the lesson, Pep and City, we will take that, we have to understand.
“When you’re in a process, it won’t go only upside, you will have setbacks.
“We beat Liverpool, but on Sunday we had a bad day at the office and we got beat. We have to accept that, but we can’t accept our performance, that was unacceptable.”
