Casemiro’s opener for Manchester United in their Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest has sparked controversy after appearing to come from a corner that should never have been awarded. Ruben Amorim’s men controlled the first half-hour and were rewarded when the Brazil midfielder nodded home a set-piece delivered by Bruno Fernandes.
However, the decision to award the corner in the first place has come under intense scrutiny. Nicola Savona appeared to keep the ball in play as he headed away a dangerous cross, yet the assistant referee – positioned on the far side of the pitch – signalled for a corner from which Casemiro went on to score. Former Premier League official Mike Dean has not held back in his assessment of the incident, either.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, he said: “Its not out. The assistant referee can’t see it, but the ball is nowhere near out. It’s just a guess by the assistant referee.”
The interval at the City Ground arrived just 10 minutes later to a chorus of jeers from the home faithful, with Elliot Anderson also among the players who vented their frustrations to match officials. United were unlikely to lose sleep over the decision, though, as they pursue a fourth straight Premier League triumph.
Victories over Brighton, Liverpool and Sunderland preceded their journey to Nottingham, with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Casemiro all proving deadly in attack. Playing just once a week has evidently benefited United and Amorim, with another three points this afternoon set to lift them into the top four, albeit temporarily.
Speaking about Forest, he told a pre-match press conference: “More or less, I watched the last game, it was one of the first ones here that we won, we were so lucky in that game. I watched against Porto, I watched against Bournemouth, the style of play is similar, with different characteristics.
“I watched one game that we didn’t pre-season with Sporting CP, so to try to understand how he played in that game. It’s similar, he can change some characteristics of the players with the talent that they have, especially with [Morgan] Gibbs-White, Anderson, [Callum] Hudson-Odoi, very good players. So we need to be prepared for a different game against Brighton. We had space to play. We are not going to have that space.
“You need to understand that we are not being the same team away and at home, so we need to improve the way we control the environment. Every tackle is a big moment for the opponent’s fans, so we need to play better away. We are prepared for a very tough match.”