Topics: Martin Keown, Casemiro, Manchester United, Southampton, Premier League, England, Football
Casemiro has been urged to improve his tackling technique after the Manchester United midfielder was sent off in his side’s 0-0 draw with Southampton on Sunday.
The United star was dismissed in the first half at Old Trafford after he caught Southampton midfielder Carlos Alcaraz’s leg with his tackle.
Referee Anthony Taylor initially showed Casemiro a yellow card, but he overturned his decision after a VAR check and brandished a red card for the Brazilian midfielder.
Casemiro, who has had a sensational impact in his debut season at Old Trafford, will now face a four-match ban if United do not appeal the decision.
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It means that United manager Erik ten Hag will be without the former Real Madrid star for domestic matches until his side’s clash with Nottingham Forest on 15th April.
Following Casemiro’s dismissal, who was visibly upset leaving the pitch, Ten Hag said it was “tough but fair” and claimed the Brazil international is a “very fair player.”
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown broke down where it went wrong for Casemiro in his challenge and agreed with Taylor’s decision to send him off.
“To a certain extent, he’s got a point,” he told talkSPORT.
“If you look at the Premier League, we’ve only had 23 sending-offs this year whereas there’s 101 in La Liga, so you might look at it and think there’s a man who has just come from La Liga but was never sent off unless it was a straight-red.
“It’s worth a debate but when you look at the incidents, he’s been involved in then you can’t really argue.
“Although when you look at the first one when he had his hands on the throat of an opponent at Palace, I think that the slow-motion is killing him there because he’s not squeezing the guy by the throat, he’s just placing his hand there, I think it was Will Hughes, then he pulls his hand away and that’s why it looked like more than it did.
“This one, I thought that it was a sending off and I think that’s down to the technique of tackle.
“As a tackler, that was my game as a contact defender, I went into a tackle on my side and for anyone listening, if you look at Casemiro he went in on his backside. When you go in on your backside your foot has to come up and okay, he wins the ball, but his studs are showing, his foot comes up above the ball and catches the opponent.
“If he tries to slide in on his side with a different technique, he can pinch that ball and not injure his opponent.
“That, for me, has crept into the game. You see a lot of it now of people leaping into a challenge and I know it looks worse in slow-mo and I would like the PGMOL to look at it that the final thing he sees when he goes pitchside is the action played at full speed.”
Keown also offered his advice to Casemiro on how to change up his technique, with the talkSPORT pundit explaining the most effective way to execute a tackle.
“You can’t get hurt when you go in like that. You’re protecting yourself and endangering your opponent,” he added.
“Change your technique, go in off your side. Slide in off your hip, it’s a different technique and the modern-day player seems to go in on their backside and what happens is you fall back and it brings your legs up and so his foot is going to rise if he takes that technique going into tackles.”
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