Manchester United were entertained by Watford at Vicarage Road earlier today with both teams fighting for nothing less than three points. The Red Devils were the brighter of the two sides in the first half and took a deserved 2-0 lead, going into the break, courtesy of goals from Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling.
The Hornets began the match on the front foot in the second half hoping to find a route back into the contest. Javi Gracia’s side were handed a lifeline in the 65th minute when Andre Gray scored with an emphatic finish. However, it turned out only to be a consolation as United came away with maximum points, holding on to a slender lead late in the game.
Let’s shed some light on how each Man United player performed during the match against the Hornets.
GK: David De Gea – 8/10
He made a world-class save to deny Watford a point at the death. The Spaniard was excellent during the game and was one of the main reasons why United came out victorious.
RB: Antonio Valencia – 5/10
The veteran right-back had a mediocre game going forward. He failed to provide a constant outlet down the right flank and was caught out of position at times during the match.
CB: Chris Smalling – 7.5/10
He scored a beautiful goal in the first half but was defensively shaky.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 7/10
A solid performance from the United centre-back! He was calm under pressure and did enough to see out a victory at Vicarage Road.
LB: Ashley Young – 8.5/10
The English playmaker put in some wonderful crosses from wide areas and played an essential part in both of United’s goals on Saturday.
CM: Paul Pogba – 6/10
The Frenchman was a constant threat to the Hornets defence and made some darting runs from midfield with the ball. However, he lacked the finishing touch in the final third and became a bit lazy during the final quarter of the contest.
CM: Marouane Fellaini – 6.5/10
The big Belgian midfielder was defensively careless but made a significant impact going forward. He won a lot of headers and set up his teammates well in the opposition half.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 6/10
The Serbian put on a defensive masterclass and provided some added protection to the shaky Man United defence. However, he was sent off for a dangerous challenge in the final few minutes of the encounter.
RM: Jesse Lingard – 5/10
He struggled to get going as part of Jose Mourinho’s attack and was rightfully subbed in the second half.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 8/10
The Belgian scored the crucial opening goal of the game and worked hard for his team by running the channels even during the dying embers of the contest.
LM: Alexis Sánchez – 6/10
Another average performance from the Chilean, he impressed at times with some penetrative runs behind the Watford backline but was overall underwhelming.
Substitutes:
RM: Anthony Martial – 5/10
He provided some fresh legs on the pitch but gave away the ball needlessly at times.
LM: Scott McTominay – N/A
Not enough time for him to make an impact.
CB: Eric Bailly – N/A
He came on in injury time to run the clock down for Mourinho.
