12 duels & 6 tackles won: 71-touch star was Man Utd's leading player vs Athletic Bilbao yesterday - opinion

Manchester United progressed to the Europa League final following a 7-1 aggregate win over Athletic Bilbao.

The Red Devils had a handy 3-0 advantage from the first leg at San Mames last week.

Athletic opened the scoring at Old Trafford in the 31st minute yesterday, but things went pear-shaped for them towards the end.

Mason Mount put United level in the 72nd minute before Casemiro’s header gave the Red Devils the lead.

Rasmus Hojlund’s tap-in made it 3-1 for the Red Devils. Mount put the gloss on the performance with a sublime 35-yard strike into an unguarded net (4-1).

Mount earned the plaudits for his exceptional display off the bench, but Casemiro was the stand-out player in our opinion.

The Brazil international has been exceptional in the Europa League campaign and stepped up once more with a splendid showing.

The £10 million-rated star had 71 touches in the game with 41 passes. He won an impressive 12 duels and made six successful tackles.

Casemiro’s future was a big topic of speculation at the start of the year, when manager Ruben Amorim admitted that he does not suit his system.

However, the 33-year-old has managed to win over the manager’s confidence with a superb transformation over recent months.

He has become one of the first names on the teamsheet and will want to end the campaign on a high by guiding the club to Europa League glory.

Winning the competition’s final against Tottenham Hotspur guarantees the club’s berth in the league phase of next season’s Champions League.

There is speculation that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe could offload Casemiro during the next transfer window if United don’t win the Europa League.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Fotmob.com

Article written by Sri Aswin .