Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid Takeaways: The best there is under pressure
Casemiro is finding his footing again
Casemiro won’t be available in the next match against Athletic Bilbao after picking up a fifth yellow card for his first-half challenge on Joao Felix, but he should be praised heavily for his Man of the Match display in El Derbi.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder is a vital player to Real Madrid, and that is especially true in these difficult rivalry matches.
We haven’t seen Casemiro’s best this season, and many fans have wondered if this could be related to exhaustion after a career-best 2019-2020 in which he tirelessly played week after week as a crucial starter for Zinedine Zidane.
Casemiro showed improvement against Gladbach, but his best match of the season was probably this Saturday vs. Atletico Madrid.
Per WhoScored.com, the 28-year-old completed nearly 94 percent of his passes with four clearances and four fouls drawn. His work covering for Sergio Ramos and shadowing Felix were excellent and cannot be measured in stats.
Casemiro is a center midfielder who loves defending and being all over the pitch. He fills so many gaps for this defense and helps the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric do their jobs as the main conductors for the offense.
Next. Real Madrid's 5 Most Valuable Players Of The Last Decade. dark
But of course, Case is capable of scoring, too, especially when he gets into dangerous positions for headers. He did exactly that early in the match when he scored from a corner, and that goal enabled Real Madrid to play with even more confidence in an eventual 2-0 win that was never in any doubt.