Csemeiro scored a brace to help Manchester United produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the FA Cup. While the Royals, who were led by former United midfielder Paul Ince, were on the road, Erik ten Hag’s team maintained their previous run of success by dominating the whole match. However, they were unable to get past the Royals’ resolute defense in the opening period. It turned out that the match required a touch of Brazilian magic, as Casemiro, Antony, and Fred assisted Man Utd in winning. They won at home for the eleventh time straight in all competitions. Casemiro, a midfielder, scored twice soon after the intermission. A world-class ball from Antony set up his teammate for the first goal (54) before Fred set up the former Real Madrid player to score the second goal three minutes later.
With a wonderful flicked finish at the near post, Fred (66) later added his name to the scoreboard. It happened a minute after Andy Carroll, a former Liverpool striker, was sent for a second infraction after making an errant, late challenge on Casemiro (65). Amadou Salif Mbengue’s (72) free header gave Reading a goal back in stoppage time, but the only significant setback for the hosts was an ankle injury to midfielder Christian Eriksen. It is “tough” to give a diagnosis, according to Ten Hag, who has an intense fixture schedule coming up with eight games in February, but the midfielder will be evaluated over the course of the next 24 hours.
In the first 15 minutes of their Championship match, Man Utd had three opportunities. Wout Weghorst, a January acquisition, had a nice flick denied before Eriksen just missed with a free kick. Then, Joe Lumley successfully saved a winning set-piece for Marcus Rashford. Even though he had a strong first half, Antony was unable to direct any of his curling attempts to the goal. The winger also curled a shot just wide of the post while assisting Bruno Fernandes. Just after the half-hour mark, the two connected once more, but Fernandes missed the target with his effort.
Soon after, Rashford scrambled the ball over the goal line from a tight angle and appeared to have given United the lead, but VAR stepped in to rule it out for offside. Weghorst was to blame; he misjudged a looping ball by a knee as he nodded it down for Rashford’s goal. Reading came close to leading 1-0 at halftime. Junior Hoilett, the Royals’ captain, spotted Tyrell Malacia sloshing around with the ball and pushed the inexperienced full-back into a pass. Hoilett’s errant attempt was stopped by David de Gea, though.
Shortly after the break, a quick-fire Casemiro double gave Man Utd their first victory. In the first, Antony did a great job of setting him up by dribbling past a defender and slipping the ball to his teammate in the channel. The midfielder then executed a lovely dinked finish that showed great talent. Three minutes later, Casemiro delivered another spectacular performance. The ball was passed to a fellow Brazilian by newly-inserted substitute Fred, who had plenty of time to set up his shot before blasting it past Lumley. It may have taken a deflection on the way through, which may have caught the keeper off guard, but it was still a good goal.
Carroll’s dismissal between the second and third goals made Reading’s evening much worse. The striker, who had already been cautioned earlier in the match, rushed into a reckless challenge on Casemiro in midfield before receiving a second yellow card. And it took United little time to add a third. As the home crowd at Old Trafford started to riot, Fernandes found Fred at the near post, and the midfielder flicked the ball home past Lumley. When Reading scored a goal shortly after the 70-minute mark, they were given a chance to save the game. Ten Hag will have been irritated by the goal because Mbengue was given a free header after being allowed through the defense.
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