'Excellent and a leader' - Ruud van Nistelrooy hails Manchester United unsung hero from his first two matches

Ruud van Nistelrooy hailed the performances of Casemiro during his two matches as interim head coach of Manchester United.

The Brazilian midfielder had been struggling at the start of the campaign under former manager Erik ten Hag, but has shown glimpses of his former self in recent performances against Leicester City and Chelsea. Casemiro netted twice in the 5-2 League Cup win over the Foxes on Wednesday night and caught the eye again as United drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking after the weekend draw, Van Nistelrooy was quizzed on the performances of Casemiro and how he has recovered after what was a difficult start to the new season.

"I think his performances last Wednesday and today were excellent," he told reporters after the draw. "With his two goals last Wednesday, today he played a great ball in for Rasmus Hojlund for the penalty situation, I think he had an excellent game overall, covering together with Ugarte, taking care of Cole Palmer and in the second-half (Marc) Cucurella and in the first-half (Malo) Gusto. He did really well there, he balanced the team on and off the ball. So he is very important, also as a leader in this team."

The Chelsea draw marked a week since Ten Hag took charge of United for the final time and Van Nistelrooy was also quizzed on the emotions of a difficult week after he replaced his former boss in the hot seat.

He added: "It has been very difficult from last Monday to today, six days, a rollercoaster of emotions, very sad seeing Erik leave, the next day you have to start to focus on getting the lads ready for Leicester because 75,000 people show up here at Old Trafford and the players feel they have an obligation to do better. They look in the better and their reactions then and today show they think about things."