Owen Hargreaves has strongly criticized Manchester United midfielder Casemiro for his involvement in Burnley’s equalizing goal during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Despite United taking the lead through Antony’s goal in the 79th minute, they once again squandered all three points when Zeki Amdouni converted a penalty just before the end of the game.
In a peculiar sequence of events, Brazil international Casemiro attempted to head the ball back to goalkeeper Andre Onana, but his looping header caused chaos in the box. Onana rushed out to punch the ball clear but ended up colliding with Amdouni.
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Before this mishap, Onana had been having a solid game, making several crucial saves to keep Burnley at bay, including a remarkable reaction stop to deny Lyle Foster from close range.
Reflecting on the penalty incident, former United midfielder Hargreaves insisted that Casemiro was equally responsible, labeling his decision to not clear the ball late in the game as “unbelievable.”
“That header from Casemiro is unbelievable, I don’t know what he is thinking,” Hargreaves told Premier League Productions. “Onana comes out, and yes, he clatters into Amdouni, but the header from Casemiro, it’s just not acceptable at that stage of the game. Onana is going to get criticized, but he kept them in the game. He made some big saves today.”
Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen expressed frustration over United’s inability to hold onto a lead, noting that they have dropped points from winning positions in five of their last seven games.
“We had the three points in our hands going into the last minutes of ordinary time. We should be able to keep a clean sheet and get the win,” Eriksen said.
“I still think there could be some aspects of my performance that could be better. I made a few decisions that could have been better, putting my teammate or myself in a better area around the pitch. But I’m trying to do my best, and like you said, I haven’t had as much game time. When you’re playing, you have to do your best, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”