Full Time: Watford 2-4 Manchester United
Manchester United beat Marco Silva’s unpredictable Watford side, in what was an intense match at Vicarage Road last night. United are now 5 points behind Premier League high-fliers Manchester City, while Watford are at 8th place now. The Hornets fought hard but Jose Mourinho’s men truly deserved the victory as they played like a well-rounded team from the very beginning.
Ashley Young scored twice against his former club and Anthony Martial added a third goal. However, goals from Troy Deeney and Abdoulaye Doucoure did threaten the Red Devils. But Jesse Lingard’s sublime strike towards the end of the game secured 3 important points for the away side. Let’s take a look at how the Manchester United players fared against Watford.
Manchester United Player Ratings
David de Gea – 6/10
De gea did not have much to do all night and he failed to save the goals from Deeney and Doucoure.
Antonio Valencia – 7.5/10
Valencia was solid throughout the game. Although he seemed sloppy over the weekend, the player made some well-timed runs and defended well against Watford.
Victor Lindelof – 8/10
Mourinho allowed Lindelof a lot of time to settle in and it seems like it is finally paying off. The defender was confident and kept Watford at bay for major parts of the game. He also showed a mature reading of the game, while making some crucial interceptions.
Marcos Rojo – 7/10
Fans were awaiting his return and he looked a bit shaky initially. But he settled down soon enough and displayed good form. However, he did pick up a booking and also gave away a penalty.
Chris Smalling – 7/10
Smalling’s passes were a bit sloppy but besides that, he was quite solid and did his job diligently.
Ashley Young – 10/10
Young was undoubtedly United’s best player last night. He scored 2 goals in a single match after ages – the last time being in 2012. The player also defended well and put in an all-round performance.
Nemanja Matic – 6/10
It is clear for all to see that Matic needs some rest. His influence is waning because he seems exhausted and that is visible in his inaccurate passes and general sloppiness on the field.
Paul Pogba – 7/10
Once again, Pogba was an important presence in the United midfield. He kept things going with his pace and trickery.
Jesse Lingard – 7.5/10
Lingard had a chance to score in the first-half but he was denied by Heurelho Gomes. That did not stop him from scoring the defining goal that clinched the victory for United.
Anthony Martial – 8.5/10
Martial started off on a weak note but he reigned himself in and started making a strong impact. Working in a central role, the player caused a lot of troubles for the Hornets’ back line.
Romelu Lukaku – 7.5/10
Lukaku is benefiting from the likes of Pogba and Lingard and that’s showing in his performances. He set up the third goal and wreaked havoc upon the Watford defenders. However, the Belgian has not scored for a while and he desperately needs a goal in United’s next game against Arsenal.
Subs
Ander Herrera – 5/10
Herrera came on for Matic but was at his usual recent self – which means he failed to do much.
Marcus Rashford – 5/10
Rashford came on quite late and by then the game already had a pace of its own and the youngster struggled to keep up.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – N/A
The moment everybody waited for – Ibrahimovic came on to the field in a United jersey but it was too late and hopefully, he will have a greater role to play against Arsenal.