"He was special today","His resurgence is blowing my mind" - Fans hail Manchester United veteran after 4-1 win against Sociedad

Manchester United fans have lauded Casemiro following their 4-1 win over Real Sociedad in the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday (March 13). Casemiro was remarkable in midfield and made several key interceptions during the game.

Six minutes in, Real Sociedad were awarded a penalty following a foul by Matthijs de Ligt on Mikel Oyarzabal in the penalty area. Following VAR's review, Oyarzabal converted the spot-kick in the 10th minute.

Having received an early scare, United responded almost immediately. Rasmus Hojlund was fouled by Igor Zubeldia in the penalty box, and United were also awarded a spot-kick in the 13th minute. Fernandes converted the penalty and restored parity for the Red Devils in the 16th minute.

Aritz Elustondo brought down Patrick Dorgu in the penalty box, and United were handed their second spot-kick of the night in the 48th minute. Two minutes later (50’), Fernandes converted the penalty, having sent goalkeeper Alex Remiro in the wrong direction.

Sociedad were reduced to 10 men when Jon Aramburu was issued a red card for denying Dorgu a goal-scoring opportunity in the 63rd minute. Fernandes completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, placing his shot into the bottom left corner following a quick break engineered by Alejandro Garnacho.

In added time (90+1’), Hojlund passed the ball to Diogo Dalot, who placed his shot into the roof of the net, making the final scoreline 4-1. Manchester United thus made it through to the quarterfinals 5-2 on aggregate.

Casemiro maintained a passing accuracy of 83% (50/60). He registered six defensive actions, provided eight passes into the final third, and won three out of five ground duels contested (via StatmanDave and Sofascore). Having been replaced by Toby Collyer in the 79th minute, United supporters gave the Brazilian a standing ovation at Old Trafford.

In the game's aftermath, fans expressed their satisfaction with Casemiro's performance on X, with one tweeting:

"Casemiro was special today man 🥺."

"PUT SOME FLOWERS TO CASEMIRO'S NAME IMPORTANT INTERCEPTIONS HOLDING POSSESSION," another added.

"They laughed at me for believing in casemiro.. hahahahahahahahhaahahha who’s laughing now?!" a fan asked.

"Casemiro suits these games, fair play to him he was brilliant," an impressed fan opined.

"Casemiro's resurgence is blowing my mind. I thought he was completely done but the last few games he has been fantastic," wrote another.

How did Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes perform against Real Sociedad?

Manchester United v Real Sociedad de Futbol - UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg - Source: Getty

Fernandes was brilliant against Sociedad having scored a hat-trick that secured qualification to the next round for Manchester United.

The 30-year-old maintained a passing accuracy of 80% (48/60), provided four key passes, registered four shots on target, and won five out of seven ground duels contested. The United captain received a perfect rating of 10 for his performance, as per Sofascore.

The Portuguese has now scored four goals and delivered two assists in nine Europa League games this season. Meanwhile, Manchester United will take on Lyon in the quarterfinals of the 2024-25 UEL.