Manchester United have lost a threat nobody saw coming
Manchester Evening News · Steven Railston · 2026-08-17T04:12:07+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Manchester United have lost a threat nobody saw coming
Man Utd were a big threat from set-pieces last season, but that might change after the departure of Casemiro.
“I thought I was good at attacking in the box until I met him," said Harry Maguire of Casemiro last season.
Maguire heaped praise on Casemiro following his opener in the 2-1 win against Brentford at Old Trafford, his eighth headed goal of the campaign.
The Brazilian scored nine goals in the Premier League last term, meaning all but one were headers, so Manchester United now face the challenge of dealing with the aerial threat void caused by his departure.
Casemiro offered an enormous threat from set-pieces. If you look at players with a minimum of 10 goals in the Premier League for United, only Nemanja Vidic has a higher percentage of goals scored from headers.
The 34-year-old had even scored more headers than any other player in Europe's top five leagues by the spring of last season.
Casemiro was not known for his headed goals before he arrived in Manchester, but he quietly became a secret weapon in the box during his time at United, attacking crosses at every opportunity.
Although he was never the tallest player on the pitch at 6ft 1in, his movement in the box was incredibly intelligent, and he knew how to attack a ball.
United must find a way to continue scoring goals from set-pieces without Casemiro. Set-plays have become increasingly important in the Premier League, and United will suffer if other players do not step up to fill the void.
However, the list of players who scored headed goals in the Premier League last season doesn't inspire confidence that the void can be filled, as no player in the squad scored more than one headed goal.
Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Patrick Dorgu each scored one headed goal in the league.
The likes of Sesko, Maguire and De Ligt, in particular, some of the tallest players in the dressing room, must do better, although only Maguire will be a regular starter for at least the first month of the season.
Club sources have been adamant that Sesko will be fit enough to make the squad for the opening game of the campaign against Hull, but the striker has missed every pre-season fixture, so he will lack crucial match fitness.
Michael Carrick has planned for Sesko's absence by playing Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha down the middle in pre-season, and it would not be a surprise if Sesko does not start games regularly until something like September.
De Ligt is understood to be making good progress as he recovers from back surgery, but United will not rush him back into action given the nature of the issue, so there will be a lot of responsibility on Maguire from set-pieces. A headed goal against AC Milan on Saturday suggests he could be ready to make his mark next season.
Other players will have to chip in with goals from set-pieces to help out. Leny Yoro is capable in the box, and he was denied a headed goal against Fulham last season when it was marked down as an own-goal, so he is a strong candidate to contribute considering how many games he will play.
However, the loss of Casemiro's threat from set-pieces is undoubtedly compounded by the lack of threat from the rest of the squad.