Erik ten Hag again dubbed Casemiro the "cement" of the Manchester United team after their 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham.
Casemiro started the eighth match running and completed 90 minutes as United held on to move up to fifth and within a point of the top four in the table, with a game in hand.
Since the 30-year-old was recalled to the starting XI against Omonia Nicosia earlier this month, United have embarked on an eight-game unbeaten run.
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Ten Hag described Casemiro as "the cement between the stones" upon his arrival at United from Real Madrid in August and the United manager outlined the Brazilian's importance to the team.
"They call him the cement between the stones in and out of possession," Ten Hag said. "He makes such a difference to a team, he gives a team dominance, he gives the team an opportunity to dominate the game in and out of possession, because he can read the game and make the right decisions.
"He's pointing players in the right positions, he's anticipating in and out of position and finally, he sees the pass between the lines.
"For me, one of the highlights from this game was the brilliant opening from him to Dalot in the first-half. He's a top player and I'm happy to have him here."
Ten Hag also reserved praise for United captain Harry Maguire, who returned for his first Premier League start since August 13.
Maguire returned from a four-week lay-off with a thigh strain in the second-half against FC Sheriff on Thursday night and replaced the unwell Victor Lindelof against West Ham.
The England international blocked West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen's goalbound effort in stoppage-time and Ten Hag was impressed by Maguire's leadership. "When you are back in team training and drop out two centre halves and all of a sudden he has to come, he only had 45 minutes.
"At the end of the game, when an opponent makes press on us, you have to be consistent with your performance, but the last 20 minutes were tough for him.
"He survived that with his back four, he had the presence of leadership there, he headed a lot of balls away, a lot of really good clearances, he was important in organisation there, he showed really good confidence there and I was really happy to see that performance from Harry and also his contribution to the team.
"And that's one of the reasons why we kept another clean sheet."
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