Marcelo hailed Casemiro’s “spectacular growth” after the midfielder’s winner in Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Casemiro constantly broke up attacks and scored Madrid’s second goal against Athletic to ensure the capital giants would end the week top of La Liga, prompting Marcelo to shower praise on his fellow Brazilian.
“A game here is always difficult, we’re in the final stretch now,” the left-back said after the game.
“What the Coach said to us, we carried it out and we secured the victory.
“We trained and prepared for the game and it worked out well. We knew what we had to do and we did it today.
“Top of the table? It’s important, we’re only thinking about picking up points, not how many we are in the lead. It was important to keep going before the [international] break.
“Casemiro? He’s grown spectacularly, he works hard and it’s a privilege to work with him.”