Casemiro raised an uncomfortable Declan Rice question

Manchester United sent shockwaves across the Premier League again this past weekend, producing another tactical masterclass as new manager Michael Carrick coached the Red Devils to another marquee victory over a title contender.

This time, Man United upended rivals Arsenal with a 3-2 win. Patrick Dorgu was the main star of the show in another scintillating performance as a left winger, but the real way Man United won this game was with the foundation in the midfield.

The veteran defensive midfielder, Casemiro, was, in particular, brilliant in this one. Once derided as finished and even famously told by Jamie Carragher to “leave the football before the football leaves you”, Case has proven this season that he still has plenty in the tank left to give.

Declan Rice is not one for the Ballon d’Or

He was so good against Arsenal that he neutralized Declan Rice, who has been getting a lot of Ballon d’Or love these days. There are people who think he should be one of the favorites to win the prestigious award alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

Well, despite what Rodri would have you think, it is a high bar for defensive midfielder to clear in order to win the Ballon d’Or, and Rice has not cleared it, especially in comparison to the goals and all around attacking influence Mbappe and Kane have.

Rice did a whole lot of nothing against Manchester United. Casemiro martialed him perfectly and truly outsmarted the former West Ham man, forcing him into less dangerous passes while curtailing his progressive and even defensive influence on the game.

The former Real Madrid legend has always excelled at the game inside of the game, and by shutting down Rice in a marquee matchup and making him play into a total lull creatively, Case dismantled a significant part of Rice’s Ballon d’Or case.

Undoubtedly because of his own quality and because of how good Arsenal have been this season, Rice is still a candidate to win the Ballon d’Or, but to say that he is a top five candidate on the plane of a Lamine Yamal or even a Nico Paz would be a step too far.

On the opposite of the equation, Casemiro deserves a lot more love. He does not rack up the basic box score passing stats because he focuses so much on defending and the things stats do not cover, but when you actually watch the game and see the final result for Manchester United, you know the impact Case had.