The Brazilian popped up with the winner in a hard-fought contest in Las Palmas and his presence give some steel to the side. However, he is not the solution to Real's soft centre
Zinedine Zidane was furious. The Real Madrid coach watched his side beat Las Palmas with a last-minute winner from Casemiro on Sunday, but the Frenchman was in no mood for celebration. Because on this evidence, his entire midfield needs a major rethink - and a new leader as well.Madrid took the lead through Sergio Ramos in the first period, but looked likely to let Las Palmas back in it in a shocking second-half showing. And when the inevitable eventually happened with Willian Jose's goal, they were fortunate enough to take all three points as Casemiro headed home from a corner right at the end.
The team had got out of jail, but Zidane admitted: "I'm really worried about the second half. Playing like that, we won't go anywhere. Not like we played in the second half. I want to watch the game again and I am convinced we can play much better."
He will certainly hope so, but the trend is indeed worrying. Yes, Madrid dug deep and ultimately won all three points, but the lack of control in midfield was alarming and Zidane added: "We lost an unbelievable amount of balls."
They did and Zidane cannot rely on his fantastic forwards to win matches all of the time. This, in fact, was Madrid's first win in La Liga without a goal from any of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or Karim Benzema (out injured) since April of last year. That they managed it in this match was extremely useful.
However, for the BBC to fully function for Madrid, there needs a more effective understanding with the midfield. At Barcelona, for example, the MSN trident thrives thanks to their brilliance but also the aggression, intensity and tactical excellence of Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic behind them.
At Real, Luka Modric is a wonderful player, but doubts remain over Isco and James Rodriguez (both of whom are more at home playing further forward), while Toni Kroos has never really adapted to a deeper role and Madrid have still not replaced Xabi Alonso after the Basque midfielder left to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2014.
Late Casemiro winner saves Madrid in Las Palmas
Casemiro is an alternative and the Brazilian's winner against Las Palmas was a huge relief. However, not even he could prevent the constant loss of possession on Sunday evening.
The 24-year-old was a favourite of former coach Rafa Benitez, but found himself frozen out as the Spaniard betrayed his own ideas and picked a political XI for the Clasico in November and saw that team lose 4-0 to their fierce rivals at the Bernabeu.
Zidane also largely ignored the Brazilian as he took over. However, he appears to have realised now that he needs players in this team to run, to battle and to win the ball back. Casemiro may not be brilliant in possession, but he brings balance.
However, his deficiencies were also notable against Las Palmas. Combative and hard-working, Casemiro headed the winner in the final minute, yet his lack of technical ability means he offers few solutions when Madrid are in possession. And Real need a player adept at both destruction and creation.
They also require greater work-rate overall. Zidane has said since he took over that he wants all of his players tracking back and defending when Madrid do not have the ball. And that must mean everyone, including Ronaldo and Bale.
The Welsh winger, back on the left in this match, did work hard in the first half particularly, but Madrid must also be able to retain possession once they have won it back. So Casemiro definitely helped to paper over the cracks, as he did early on in Rafa's reign, but Madrid really need a new leader in their midfield if they are to compete for the top titles.
And if they can bring one in this summer, everything will improve.
- Goal