Real Madrid: 5 burning questions from the Spanish Supercup loss

Is it safe to praise Casemiro some more?

After a poor result, we need to finish things off by offering some kind words so that a praiseworthy performance is not lost in the venting. Although he had a rocky start to the season, I have nothing but high praise for defensive midfielder Casemiro, who is inching closer and closer to replicating his MVP-caliber form from the 2019-2020 campaign.

Casemiro was the ONLY outfield player I can safely say deserves the effusive praise on Thursday night. On the ball, Case has his issues. I get that. But I do not wish to harp on those issues, because the reality is that Zinedine Zidane needs to get his act together and stop forcing players like Casemiro, Raphael Varane, Ferland Mendy, and Thibaut Courtois to play it out of the back. As with starting Lucas Vazquez at right back, there are some instances where the manager is simply setting up someone to fail.

When it comes to what Casemiro is great at, he was brilliant in this Supercup loss. Casemiro had three key passes and three interceptions, as well as a goal-saving tackle in the penalty box to make up for a poorly-placed pass.

Casemiro puts his body on the line for the team. You have to take the bad with the good when it comes to his passing, but, again, Zidane really should be protecting the defensive midfielder more. The good outweighs the bad by so much, though, that you cannot help but watch in awe whenever Case makes a goal-saving defensive intervention. This team is so vulnerable to counterattacks without him. It’s just a shame that it’s easier for fans to evaluate a player on the ball than their defensive work off it, which is why Case is targeted more for criticism than he is praised for what he brings to the table.