How do Casemiro’s defensive stats compare to others?

Manchester United’s defensive midfielder Casemiro has been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks for mishaps, slow pace and overall lacklustre performances.

But is the Brazilian getting a hard time, or is the criticism valid?

According to Opta, the 32-year-old has been dribbled past 52 times (so far this season) by an opponent in the Premier League. That is still 17 less times than Brentford midfielder Mathias Jensen, who has recorded the most.

It is also less than top-flight stars Alexis Mac Allister, with the second highest at 62, and United captain Bruno Fernandes who rounds off the top three with 57.

He has also been beaten less than Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tottenham’s Pedro Porro.

Here is the full breakdown of the top-ten:

1. Mathias Jensen (Brentford) – Dribbled past 69 times in 30 Premier League starts

2. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) – Dribbled past 62 times in 31 Premier League starts

3. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – Dribbled past 57 times in 33 Premier League starts

4. Antonee Robinson (Fulham) – Dribbled past 56 times in 35 Premier League starts

5. Pedro Porro (Tottenham) – Dribbled past 54 times in 32 Premier League starts

6. Christian Norgaard (Brentford) – Dribbled past 53 times in 29 Premier League starts

7. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – Dribbled past 53 times in 26 Premier League starts

8. Joao Gomes (Wolves) – Dribbled past 53 times in 32 Premier League starts

9. Casemiro (Manchester United) – Dribbled past 52 times in 22 Premier League starts

10. Joao Palhinha (Fulham) – Dribbled past 47 times in 31 Premier League starts

One important thing to note, however, is appearances.

Excluding Casemiro, Alexander-Arnold and Christian Norgaard, they have all made over 30 Premier League starts this season. Casemiro has made the least with 22 to date and Alexander-Arnold and Norgaard have made 26 and 29 respectively.

Therefore it highlights the difficult season the five-time Champions League winner has had under Erik ten Hag compared to last season’s strong debut campaign.

As west London derbies go, Brentford’s meeting with Fulham on Saturday was one of the tamest I can remember.

With nothing to play for, neither side really got going in a hugely disappointing game, which suffered the ignominy of having its highlights shown after the Friday night game on Match of the Day.

Since the Bees’ Premier League safety was confirmed, we have not scored a goal in two matches, so hopefully we can finish the season with a flourish in our final two fixtures at Bournemouth and against Newcastle United.

It would be interesting to see Thomas Frank give some of the players who could feature more next season a chance to stake a claim now.

It is rare to have the opportunity to play competitive Premier League games with nothing much riding on them.

So it would be good if the likes of Kevin Schade and Yehor Yarmoliuk featured in the starting XI on the next two weekends.

And it would also be worth playing Neal Maupay – who did so well during the absences of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo – before a decision on whether or not to make his loan move permanent for next season.

A lot has been made of Toney’s current goal drought of 10 games.

Some are accusing him of not trying, but I wonder if he is playing with an injury.

It is of no benefit to him not to play well if he wants to make a move in the summer and play for England at the Euros.

We asked for your thoughts on Saturday’s goalless draw between Brentford and Fulham.

Here are some of your answers:

Chuck: This was no blood-and-guts local derby – more like a couple of neighbours at ease in each other’s company at a local spring fete. The positive is the improving form of [Mikkel] Damsgaard and [Nathan] Collins – that and Going Underground by the Jam blaring out at half-time.

John: Both teams were playing as if they were on holiday. There was poor passing and a lack of passion.

Tim: Another strong showing by Damsgaard. Why he got subbed off beats me. It was a wasted opportunity to show the fans some decent football. Keeping [Ivan] Toney on the pitch when he was clearly frustrated and yelling at his teammate was pointless, and [Kevin] Schade was left on the bench for too long again.

Pete: The Bees seem to be drifting a bit. Ethan Pinnock was immense and Keane Lewis-Potter showed moments of promise, but elsewhere there was little to excite. Ivan Toney seems to have given up on a Euros spot and Bryan Mbeumo was peripheral. I suspect these two will be off soon. It’s time for the new wave of young talent to be given a chance.

Uzzi: We were really flat, considering it was a derby against our most fierce Premier League rivals. We were defensively solid and Collins and Pinnock didn’t give [Rodrigo] Muniz a sniff. That said, we really flattered to deceive going forward. Lewis-Potter looked sharp, but he was subbed off for whatever reason. Toney’s movement was akin to what you see in Madame Tussauds. All in all, a fair result.