Manchester, England: Casemiro was a serial winner with Real Madrid and on Saturday he kept Manchester United’s trophy quest strong in the FA Cup.
The Brazil international struck twice in four minutes of the second half as United won 3–1 at Second Division Reading and progressed to the fifth round.
On Wednesday, Erik ten Haag’s reformed side progressed to the League Cup final after beating Nottingham Forest 3–0 in the semi-final first leg.
There is growing belief among United fans that a six-year wait for a trophy will end this season, with the club still in the Europa League where next month’s much-anticipated clash with Barcelona is set to take place.
If Ten Haag is to lift silverware in his first season as manager, Casemiro will be vital to that success.
The midfielder won five Champions Leagues and three Spanish titles with Madrid but left last summer for a new challenge in England.
Ten Haag wanted to add his winning mentality to a team that has seen Manchester City and Liverpool dominate the Premier League in recent years. His influence was evident against a Reading team who were facing United’s dominance until the 54th minute.
It was a performance that underlined how much Casemiro was missed when he was suspended for the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal last week, which left United 11 points behind the league leaders.
With Casemiro in the starting lineup, United have lost only two out of 21 games in all competitions, compared to four out of 11 without him.
While he is better known as a midfield enforcer, he has demonstrated his other attributes in his short time at Old Trafford, including his impressive range.
Against Reading, it was his clinical finishing that broke the visitors’ resistance.
The first came a delicate chip to lift the ball over goalkeeper Joe Lumley after running onto Antony’s pass into the box. Then, in the 58th, he fired in from nearly 25 meters to double United’s lead.
His mastery was evident when Reading forward Andy Carroll’s frustration boiled over and he was sent off for a second yellow card after a wild challenge on Casemiro in the 65th.
Another Brazilian, Fred, came off the bench a minute later to add United’s third with a backheel.
Amadou Mbengu scored a consolation for Reading, but was in no danger of a comeback.
While they are fighting for survival in the league, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton are progressing in the cup.
Securing top-flight status remains a priority for all three, but the cup is providing a welcome respite from their battle against relegation.
Leeds beat third-tier Accrington Stanley 3-1 on Saturday, Leicester beat fourth-tier Walsall 1-0 and bottom-of-the-league Southampton beat second-division Blackpool 2-1 on Saturday.
Goals from Leeds’ Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and Luis Sinisterra ended any chance of a miracle for Accrington in front of their home fans at the Wham Stadium. However, Leslie Adekoya gave them something to cheer about with a late consolation goal.
It was only Leeds’ second win since 5 November, both coming in the FA Cup.
Leicester – cup winners in 2021 – needed a late goal from Kelechi Iheanacho to end Walsall’s resistance in a match that also saw Youri Tielemans miss a penalty.
Leicester’s only other win since 20 December was in the previous round of the cup.
Romain Peraud scored twice in Southampton’s win. Charlie Patino makes a comeback for Blackpool.
Sunderland 15-year-old substitute Christopher Rigg thought he scored a famous winner against the Premier League’s Fulham, only to see his effort disallowed for offside.
The rig struck time in Craven Cottage, but the Second Division team’s celebration was soon cut short.
Sunderland took an early lead through Jack Clarke and Tom Cairney equalized to set up a replay for Fulham.
There will also be replays for Sheffield Wednesday and Fleetwood (1–1), Ipswich and Burnley (0–0), Luton and Grimsby (2–2) and Blackburn and Birmingham (2–2).
Second Division Bristol City reached the fifth round after beating West Brom 3–0.
New Tottenham signing Arnout Danjuma scored on his debut as Spurs beat Preston 3–0.
Danjuma, who has joined on loan from Villarreal, came on late after going on as a substitute.
Heung-min Son had already set Tottenham up for the next round with two second-half goals.