da fezbet： The Brazilian aleady appears to be approaching the end of his time at Old Trafford, but his Japanese counterpart is just getting started
da pixbet： Jurgen Klopp could not get his head around Endo Wataru's performance in the Carabao Cup final. Something just did not add up. The numbers made no sense. Despite Endo taking a heavy knock to his left ankle that resulted in him leaving Wembley on crutches, no Liverpool player won more tackles, duels or possession in the 1-0 win over Chelsea.
Endo was simply relentless. He never stopped running until the final whistle blew. Even then, he was still standing, while Moises Caicedo sat down, disconsolate, consigned to watching Klopp & Co celebrate a remarkable win with an injury-ravaged squad.
Klopp had claimed that Liverpool had been lucky to miss out on signing the Ecuadorian during the summer – and Wembley proved him right. Endo had outbattled and outclassed a player £100 million ($128m) more expensive than the Japanese – and nine years younger.
"He might be 30 or 31 on his passport but he's not!" Klopp quipped. "He's a machine!" One that Klopp claimed could easily end up signing another "long-term" contract with the club in "three or four years". That's how much the German feels Endo has left in the tank.
In that context, the contrast between one of the revelations of Liverpool's season and his next direct rival could not be starker. While Endo is enjoying the start of something special at Anfield, Casemiro appears to be approaching the end of his time at Old Trafford. The pair have similar profiles but things could not be going more differently for them ahead of Sunday's FA Cup clash between Liverpool and Manchester United.
GettyCasemiro's concerning decline
United will go into the quarter-final on the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 Premier League win over Everton, but it was a game that did little to ease concerns over Casemiro's form.
The Brazilian had more touches than any other player on the pitch but 17 of his 70 passes failed to find their target. Of United's outfield players, only Scott McTominay had a worse completion rate (73 percent) than Casemiro (76 percent).
The worrying thing is that such carelessness in possession came as a little surprise to United fans, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the £70m ($90m) signing from Real Madrid.
It's not even that he looks nothing like the combative colossus that collected five Champions League winners' medals in nine years at the Santiago Bernabeu. He's even just a shadow of the player that had such an instantaneous and transformative effect on Erik ten Hag's team after his arrival from Madrid in the summer of 2022.
AdvertisementGetty'Tell them I'll fix it'
Put quite simply, United would not have secured a return to the Champions League had it not been for Casemiro.
According to the , after watching the 4-0 drubbing by Brentford at the start of the 2022-23 season, he had sent a text to his agent saying: "Tell them I'll fix it." And he did.
Casemiro proved precisely why he was regarded as the most destructive midfielder in football for the previous decade by immediately laying waste to Premier League opponents. He was United's human wrecking ball, ranking first among his team-mates for possession won, tackles won, duels won, aerials won, blocks and interceptions. This season has been a very different story, though.
GettyA collective dip in form
Injury has obviously played a part in Casemiro's struggles, with the Selecao star sidelined from the middle of October to the turn of the year.
However, he was struggling horribly before then and some United supporters will tell you that the Brazilian was exhibiting signs of fatigue before the end of the 2022-23 campaign, in which he racked up more appearances (51) than he ever had over the course of a single season in Spain. Perhaps increasing injury issues and a dip in form were, thus, inevitable.
He's certainly not been helped by those around him, of course. Casemiro is not the only United player to underperform this season – far from it, in fact. Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have been nowhere near their best, while several key men have also been beset by fitness problems – as Ten Hag has been repeatedly at pains to point out.
(C)Getty ImagesTen Hag's bizarre tactics
The Dutchman hasn't done Casemiro any favours, either.
Ten Hag may have dismissed Jamie Carragher's claim that United have found themselves caught between two stools this season by employing both a high press and low block – but there's no doubt that Casemiro has at times looked confused, and consequently, frustrated.
This has manifested itself in Casemiro making far too many challenges that look as desperate as they are wild. Against Everton, the 32-year-old even had to be told to calm down by his teenage team-mate Kobbie Mainoo.
But such shows of petulance are arguably unsurprising. Firstly, this is not a man used to losing. Secondly, he has perhaps realised that he is locked in one particular battle that he simply cannot win.