Casemiro's performance vs Tottenham Hotspur showed exactly why Man Utd signed him

Casemiro put in his best performance so far in the Premier League, as Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

The defensive midfielder was somewhat of a surprise acquisition in the summer, after Erik ten Hag couldn't get number one target Frenkie de Jong.

Despite winning a fifth Champions League medal last season, the Brazilian was a completely different type of midfielder to what Ten Hag had previously tried to bring in.

Initially the 30-year-old had to bide his time on the bench, following Scott McTominay's strong to the start to the season, and was even 'sent back to Madrid' on his first start in the team.

However more recently, he's started showing exactly why he was worth the £60 million outlay, despite a mistake handing Everton a goal in United's 2-1 win over Frank Lampard's team.

On Wednesday night, he was really at his best against Spurs, as Antonio Conte's side struggled to break their hosts down and didn't manage to create that many chances.

He was taken off late in the game and his efforts in the centre of the park earned him a huge ovation from the crowd, and his personal highlights show exactly how good he was throughout the match.

Casemiro vs Tottenham (H)

{@Casemiro} pic.twitter.com/AUyZkRlueQ

— $K (@uptwnSK) October 19, 2022

"We've finally got a holding midfielder who can defend, it's been a long long time," a Manchester United fan, who's clearly been suffering since Darren Fletcher left the club, said on social media.

One fan picked out his favourite moment of the performance, saying, "Absolutely loved when he clattered Matt Doherty."

Alluding to the staggered start in United's line up, another added, "People wrote him off after Ten Hag didn't start him straightaway. Mans a baller man."

Looking further into things, a fourth fan really analysed the performance, saying, "Different level to anything I've seen in our midfield for years, long may it continue.

"He's incredible in all aspects of the game, positioning, awareness, tackling, interceptions, passing, vision. He's had a HUGE effect on the side. Top top performance again."

And a fifth summed it up perfectly, adding, "I can't remember the last time we had a player in midfield that brings control, leadership and the freedom to our other midfielders to get forward.

"Casermiro starting to show us why he's the best defensive midfielder in the world!"

Casemiro vs Tottenham

[@Casemiro]pic.twitter.com/xtTM1seLq0

— Deng (@UTDDeng_) October 19, 2022

It was an excellent night at the back for United, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, who played with Casemiro at Real Madrid, also in imperious form.

However, it wasn't a great night for all of United's former Real contingent, with Cristiano Ronaldo once again in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Having been annoyed at being taken off in the draw with Newcastle United last weekend, the 37-year-old wasn't even used as a substitute in the win vs Spurs.

He wasn't happy with that at all and left the bench in the 89th minute, disappearing down the tunnel whilst his teammates saw out the win.