After a difficult start, Watford grabbed their second victory on the bounce in spectacular fashion by dismantling Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at the Vicarage Road on Sunday. The team looked like a much better unit functioning well collectively and most importantly keeping up their level till the end. At the start of the season, the Hornets were very impressive by the way they started games but were punished in the late second half of the games as the level of intensity of the players dropped. It was also understandable and evident that the players were still not fully aware or set with the tactics of the manager.
Dropping points against Southampton and losing against Chelsea were a little hard to take considering the impressive performances of the team. A lapse in concentration, error regarding the tactical judgments or even getting a bit complacent before the game is over has cost them dearly in their first three games of the season.
Only against Arsenal, it can be said that Mazzarri’s team were outplayed even though they did launch a serious fight in the second half after conceding three first-half goals. In the other matches, they suffered from their own mistakes and were a bit unlucky as well. When the team again shipped two goals within the 33rd minute at the Olympic Stadium, it looked a bit concerning for the Hornets. However, to their credit and also due to their persistence the visitors managed to draw level before the referee signalled the end of the first 45 minutes and in the second half, they scored two more to turn things around for them. That particular performance seemed like the start of what Mazzarri wants to build with his group of players at the club.
It can be a coincidence that the Watford players were able to get a good grasp of the interchangeable 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation in their fifth game and found their rhythm to stun West Ham in their own backyard. The most important players for this formation to function effortlessly, the fullbacks, are starting to impose their authority more in the games which has immediately brought in a shift in the results.
Against Manchester United, Mazzarri, completely outwitted the supposed ‘Tactical Genius’ Mourinho with his use of the dynamic fullbacks. From a tactical point of view, there were a host of other things which allowed the team to give such a dominant performance but the movement for the second goal of the home team which put them 2-1 up in the 83rd minute was a one to savour.
While most people will highlight the run and finish of Zuniga for that goal, the real beauty lied in the move created by the duo of Amrabat and Pereyra. Amrabat, who replaced the injured Janmaat performed like a true wingback and Pereyra made a diagonal outward movement from just outside the penalty area into the half space to create a central space inside the box for Zuniga, who was positioned as one of the midfielders, to run into. A perfect first-time finish by Zuniga capped off a wonderful move to give the hosts the lead but it was a product of all the three players performing their tasks perfectly.
The availability of two very strong box to box midfielders in Capoue and Pereyra has allowed Mazzarri to be able to impose his tactics to perfection without losing the defensive structure needed off the ball. At the moment, things are looking very promising for Watford something which the supporters and the players are relishing. Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo are performing well again. While Deeney was always meant to be the talisman of the team, I personally wasn’t convinced about Ighalo under Mazzarri at the start.
The big striker was not athletic enough to make full use of the play around him, particularly in a system in which the Italian manager works. Nevertheless, he has been able to overcome that in a completely different manner and has utilized his strength to perfection to create spaces against big defenders. Etienne Capoue has been able to get full value of his third man runs so far scoring 4 goals in his 5 games for Watford as a result. It looks like Vicarage Road would experience more good memories in the future and with the players responding to the system of the manager, Watford look like a very interesting proposition to watch and for a dash at the European places at the end of this season.
