Manchester United goal hero Casemiro impressed by ambition of manager Erik ten Hag

Old Trafford coach holds Brazilian in similar esteem hailing midfielder as 'brilliant footballer'

Casemiro celebrates after scoring Manchester United's winner in the 1-0 Premier League victory at Bournemouth on May 20, 2023. Getty

Casemiro was Manchester United’s goalscorer and man of the match in Saturday’s crucial away victory at Bournemouth.

His spectacular finish earned United all three points on the south coast and put them within touching distance of Champions League football next season

The performance led his manager Erik ten Hag to say: “He keeps surprising us, he is such a brilliant football player. It was a great goal from Casemiro, a brilliant finish – and he keeps the team together.

"Casemiro won the most duels, regained possession more than any other player and took more shots than any other player. He has exceeded expectations, absolutely. His contribution is massive.”

Casemiro holds his manager in similar esteem.

“He has surprised me a lot with his ambition,” said the Brazilian. “We have been talking among us, and we have been saying that he is a little bit heavy because he always likes to win.

"He is asking for more because for him 100 per cent is not enough. We have to give more than 100 per cent. He works a lot and is very ambitious. He has the ambition to change the whole club.

“He is a manager who has the respect from all the players and the fans as well. But I think we need to give him time because despite the fact we have already won one title and are quite close to the Champions League, we need more time to grow up. We can see he is changing a lot of things within the club. He is always showing ambition to win.”

Casemiro was satisfied with the win over Bournemouth that leaves United needing just one point from the final two home games to guarantee Champions League football next season. United were within a minute of that objective until Liverpool’s late equaliser at Aston Villa.

“It’s true that we haven’t reached the objective yet,” said Casemiro. “We still need one point. We cannot even think about drawing the next game, we need to go out to win the three points in the next game. We cannot be relaxed.

"We know Chelsea aren’t going doing well but they are a huge club that won the Champions League just a few years ago. It’s going to be a really difficult game. We are going to play in our stadium with our fans. Now we know we are really close to our objective, which is to qualify.”

Bournemouth 0 Manchester United 1: player ratings

The win at Bournemouth was key.

“The most important thing was to win the three points, that was our objective this afternoon,” he said before talking about his goal. “The assist from Christian was really good. But it wasn’t just the goal, the team played really well today. It was another game with a clean sheet and we had a really good dynamic.”

His ninth-minute bicycle kick was spectacular. “I had one a little bit similar when I was playing in Madrid,” he smiled, which he wasn’t doing when he was sent off in two home games for United in the spring.

“I am really happy here,” he said. “I am enjoying being in the Premier League a lot. I haven’t enjoyed so much for a long time and since I arrived at the club, all of the staff, the fans, everybody have been really incredible with me.

"I am trying to give them back everything on the field and give my best. It’s a really good experience for me. I hope and expect to continue in this way. We know that our objective is to win trophies and titles, and we are in the process of growing up.”

Casemiro is one of three Brazilians in United’s first team and he rates his fellow countrymen highly.

“Antony has incredible quality,” he said. “Fred hasn’t played a lot but he has always been giving the best when he has the opportunity to play. He has a really high level. They are really good players.”