SEE WHY CASEMIRO IS REAL MADRID'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYER.

Courtesy Goals.com
Brazilian enforcer Casemiro was conspicuously
absent from Saturday's Clasico humiliation,
underlining his importance to the side - so why
did Rafa Benitez drop him?

Forget Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale, one
player has become more important to Real
Madrid than any other this season: Brazilian
defensive midfielder Casemiro, whose absence
was sorely felt against Barcelona.
The one-time Porto loanee - who performed so
well in the Champions League with the
Portuguese side last season too - has quickly
established himself as a favourite of Rafa
Benitez, starting eight consecutive games prior to
the Clasico .
No Madrid player has won more tackles than
Casemiro this season - in fact, only two players
have attempted more per 90 minutes in the whole
of La Liga - and, crucially, los Blancos have failed
to win every league match he has missed.
Only one player in the entire Madrid squad
boasts a better win rate than Casemiro (Lucas
Vazquez, who has been on the victorious side in
all six of his outings), while the player who
replaced him in the Clasico , James Rodriguez,
only has a win rate of 25 per cent this season!
Fans were left wondering why Benitez decided to
drop a player that has impressed so much this
term and is so attuned to the coach's pragmatic
style - there were even reports that the decision
to pick the infamous 'BBC' attack, as well as
James Rodriguez behind the front three, was
fuelled by behind-the-scenes politics.
With no disciplined, tough-tackling enforcer
behind Madrid's avalanche of stars, Barcelona
were able to rip through Madrid with ease as the
hosts conceded four times at the Bernabeu - and
it could have been even more!

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