Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has admitted that he is baffled by one Manchester United star’s performance against Bournemouth, despite calling himself a “massive fan” of him.
Bournemouth caused all sorts of problems for Manchester United after welcoming the Red Devils to the Vitality Stadium for their Premier League clash on Saturday.
United defender Willy Kambwala struggled against Bournemouth, with the Red Devils youth academy product at fault for Dominic Solanke’s first-half opener.
Bruno Fernandes came to United’s rescue and cancelled out Dominic Solanke’s opener, only for Bournemouth to restore their advantage five minutes later.
Justin Kluivert was left unmarked by the United defence and the 24-year-old Dutch winger put Bournemouth 2-1 up going into half-time at the Vitality Stadium.
However, United were fortunate to walk away with a point from the Premier League encounter, with Bruno Fernandes completing his brace in the second half.
Fernandes stepped up for a spot-kick and the 29-year-old Portugal star sent Neto the wrong way to ensure United secured a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.
United have won only one of their last five Premier League matches, with the Red Devils picking up three draws and one defeat under manager Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils are currently seventh in the league table and are 13 points behind Aston Villa, who have played one more match, in the race for top four this season.
Redknapp critical of Man Utd star vs Bournemouth
Manchester United’s top-four Premier League challenge is all but over, with the Red Devils very much unlikely to secure Champions League football for next season.
Erik ten Hag will turn his attention to United’s FA Cup campaign this weekend, as the Red Devils travel to Wembley for their semi-final encounter against Coventry City.
Speaking after the Bournemouth match, Jamie Redknapp admitted that he was far from impressed with Casemiro’s lacklustre performance at the Vitality Stadium.
Casemiro’s influence has waned at Old Trafford this season and the 32-year-old United midfielder was criticised for his lack of contribution against Bournemouth.
“I’ve watched him [Casemiro] for many years and he is one of my favourite midfielders in world football,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
“I love watching him play. But right now, he looks like he’s in Soccer Aid. He looks like he’s playing at such a pace where the game is a bit of fun and there’s celebrities coming on the pitch.
“No. This is the Premier League… you’ve got so much experience. That isn’t the case of anything else apart from running.”
Redknapp baffled by Casemiro’s performance
Both Casemiro and Diogo Dalot came under heavy criticism for their failure to support United youngster Kambwala, who endured a nightmare first half.
Redknapp singled out Casemiro during his analysis and questioned how the ex-Real Madrid star didn’t come to Kambwala’s aid before Kluivert scored Bournemouth’s second.
“Keep your eye on Casemiro there,” he added.
“He now decides to walk? Why are you walking there?
“There’s things happening so quickly and you’ve realised now that players like Rodri and Declan Rice, are they going to be walking when Kambwala’s now got to face Kluivert in a one-on-one situation?
“I’m thinking I need to help my mate. He’s nineteen years of age – you’ve got experience and won Champions Leagues.
“Just as it carries on, he’s still walking, then he decides, ‘I’ll get into a bit of a jog.’ Now look how close he is when Kluivert shoots. If he ran, then he would have blocked that.”
Redknapp continued: “[With] Kobbie Mainoo, he’s got everything in the world at his feet, but you need great role models to get to the top.
“You need great people to look up to that you’re going to aspire to be like. At the moment, Casemiro is not setting the right examples [for] the people around him.
“As I say, I’m a massive fan, but that isn’t good enough because if he’d sprinted, he’d have stopped that.”