Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are ‘nearly there’ in their bid to secure a top four finish, hailing the performance of Casemiro in their victory over Bournemouth. The Brazilian produced a superb finish to find the back of the net, latching onto Christian Eriksen’s lofted ball, adjusting in the air after a knock on from a Bournemouth defender to volley home with an overhead kick. Ten Hag said in his post-match press conference of the Brazil international: ‘I think he keeps surprising us, Casemiro, he’s such a brilliant football player… He’s just a great football player. We know him for very good organisation positioning, anticipating, intercepting a lot of balls, winning duels, fighting and keeping the team together. But also in possession, his distribution and also his finishing, just a great football player.’
He continued: ‘It was a fantastic goal from Casemiro, a brilliant finish. I was nervous at 1-0 because you can easily make a mistake and concede a goal. We had to win the game. We are nearly there – in the top four – but we are not there. We need a win.’ With Marcus Rashford missing out through illness, United failed to add to their lead with David de Gea forced into a vital save with six minutes left – earning the Premier League’s Golden Glove award after keeping another clean sheet. Ten Hag said: ‘The only criticism is we didn’t kill off the game, we had to produce that second goal but that’s the way this team are. It is not easy scoring goals. We pinned them back, didn’t let them breathe in the first 25 minutes. David de Gea made a mistake a few weeks ago but everyone can make mistakes. We defend with 11, that’s why we have so many clean sheets. David made some great saves. I don’t care what happens in Liverpool, it’s about us. We have to do the job.’