Ruben Amorim could have to rely on one experienced Manchester United star to lead the Red Devils past Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Manchester United have a lot riding on the remainder of their Europa League campaign after a turbulent 2024-25 Premier League campaign at Old Trafford.
The Europa League is United’s best hope of securing a return to the Champions League for the 2025-26 season after their disappointing league form.
UEFA’s second-tier club competition is also Ruben Amorim’s last chance to lift major silverware as United manager in the current campaign.
United languish in 13th place in the Premier League table and the Red Devils face the real possibility of failing to secure a league spot for European football.
The Red Devils climbed out of the Europa League’s league table format, which was introduced by UEFA this season, and reached the tournament’s knockout rounds.
United knocked Real Sociedad out of the Europa League earlier this month and Amorim’s men punched their ticket to the quarter-finals and will now face Lyon.
Ruben Amorim must now see the best out of Man Utd midfielder Casemiro in the Europa League against Lyon
Manchester United and Real Sociedad played out a 1-1 draw at the Reale Arena in the first leg of their round-of-16 encounter in the Europa League earlier this month.
The Red Devils then hosted the La Liga club at Old Trafford and United came from behind to thump 10-man Sociedad 4-1 in the return leg in the last 16.
Casemiro impressed United fans with his performance against Sociedad and the midfielder showed shades of his prime Real Madrid version on the European stage.
The 33-year-old Brazilian midfielder has featured sporadically for United this season and he has been met with criticism over his struggles in the middle of the park.
However, Casemiro was in his element with the tempo of the football in European football and coming up against all-too-familiar Spanish opposition on the pitch.
According to UEFA’s official website, Casemiro has played 507 minutes in United’s Europa League campaign and holds an impressive 87.13 per cent pass accuracy.
The ex-Real Madrid man, who has featured eight times in the Europa League for United, played 79 minutes against Sociedad before he was replaced by Toby Collyer.
Casemiro highlighted his versatility during his performance on the pitch, including bailing out United teammate Diogo Dalot when he lost the ball at a crucial stage.
What Ruben Amorim has now realised about Casemiro shows his importance for Man Utd
Following the Red Devils’ win over Sociedad, United manager Ruben Amorim admitted that he is becoming aware of how to best unlock Casemiro’s potential.
“I think I’m also learning how to use players like Casemiro and, like you said, without a lot of options, we are trying to put our players in the best positions and that helps us a lot,” he told TNT Sports, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“I think you can feel that they have more freedom and then because of one game in Spain that we try to use the pace of [Alejandro] Garnacho, on the right, and he showed me so many things on the right, maybe better than the left.
“So, I’m trying to find the best solution for the team, and that helps us to play all the time with the same team. It was hard, sometimes we lost some pace in the end of the games, but we are learning.
“I think Casemiro gave us a little bit of calm. Sometimes, he takes a little bit long when he was not playing too much, you feel it in the game against Newcastle.
“The pace was not there but he is giving that first moment of build-up, and then you can push Bruno [Fernandes] near the goal, so he’s dangerous there.”
United will travel to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on 10th April for their first-leg quarter-final clash against Lyon, with kick-off slated for 8pm UK time.
The Red Devils will then welcome the French side to Old Trafford for the return leg on 17th April, with kick-off for the Europa League tie scheduled for 8pm UK time.
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