Casemiro came under fire from Wayne Rooney after his red card almost cost Manchester United all three points against Chelsea on Saturday.
Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after just five minutes when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off for a last-man foul on Bryan Mbeumo.
And Enzo Maresca’s side were immediately made to pay as first-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro put United two goals to the good in front of their home fans.
After a turbulent start to the season, a comfortable three points would have been the perfect Saturday for Ruben Amorim’s side, but that was thrown into doubt after Casemiro was sent off for a second yellow before the break.
But while United were able to hold onto the win, despite Trevor Chalobah’s late header, Rooney was critical of Casemiro for his sending off, which almost provided a route back into the game for Chelsea.
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‘It’s silly, it’s naive for such an experienced player,’ Rooney told Match of the Day.
‘Manchester United have full control of the game and if you look at that first foul, there is no need for him to go into that tackle when Chelsea have ten men.
‘And yeah, the conditions are wet and slippy, but that is a silly booking.
‘I felt then that Ruben might have taken him out of the game because you always fear that this could happen, and he goes and gets a second yellow card.
‘It’s harsh because he wisn the ball but you can see his arms pulling him [Andrey Santos] down. You don’t expect that from such an experienced player and that could have cost Manchester United today.
‘I think that’s the only way he knows how to play. He’s passionate, he’s front-footed and he likes to put his foot in and make tackles but I think today he could have held his composure a little bit better than he did.’
Amorim, meanwhile, admitted that Casemiro was regretful for his red card in the dressing room post-match, but insisted his side deserved to hold on for all three points.
‘He’s [feeling] worse than me. We won so I will forget a little bit and he will suffer because he’s a top professional,’ Amorim said.
‘He understands what he did. He is experienced enough that that play should not be played like that. He cares too much.
‘We suffered in the end but we deserved the win.’
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