Manchester United 2-1 Watford: 5 Players that won United the game

Manchester United faced Watford on Saturday under unusual circumstances. United had suffered 2 losses already after just 4 games. Watford, on the other hand, had won all of their 4 games so far. The Hornets won their last game at home against Tottenham, while United were themselves coming off a 2-0 victory over Burnley last weekend. United needed a win to get their season back on track and knew it was not going to be easy.

History suggested that United were the dominant side in the encounter, with 20 wins and 5 draws out of the 30 games these two sides have played against each other. United won 4-2 last season at the Vicarage Road and also won the home game 1-0.

Mourinho started with De Gea in goal and Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof and Young in defence. In the midfield, he opted for Matic and Fellaini to partner Pogba. Up ahead, Sanchez, Lukaku and Lingard started together for the second successive game. Mike Dean officiated the game.

United started the day strong, with some brave goalkeeping from Foster keeping Lukaku from scoring early. There was intent in United's game, they were not too respectful of Watford for what they had achieved and pressed them hard in their own half. Watford, in return, defended deep and relied on a fast counter-attack to catch United off-guard. However, United's efforts bore fruit when Lukaku put them ahead in the 35th minute. 3 minutes later, Smalling had doubled the lead and United were cruising. The game went into halftime with the score at 2-0.

Watford came out faster in the second half and after United wasted a few chances to seal the game, got a goal back through Gray in the 65th minute. From then onwards, the Hornets pressed and United held on. The Red Devils could have sealed the game on the counter on a couple of times, but poor finishing let them down. Nemanja Matic saw a red card in the 93rd minute to pile on further pressure on United, but they held on, thanks to De Gea and secured a win that put them in 8th on the table.

United finished the game with 58% possession and attempted 520 passes with 80% accuracy. They attempted 9 shots, 6 of which were on target. While the team worked together tirelessly to gather the vital 3 points, there were 5 players who were vital in this win and we take a look at them here.

#5 Marouane Fellaini

Watford FC v Manchester United - Premier League

The one name on the team list that usually ruins the day for United fans, Fellaini is the player whose involvement with United is still questioned 5 years since his joining, yet one cannot disagree that the Belgian can be effective in his own special way. Against Watford, Mourinho opted for Fellaini’s steel in midfield, just like he did against Burnley last weekend. Mourinho is known to favour the Belgian, but the manager’s use of Fellaini has been different this season.

The Belgian is still a target man during set pieces, but Mourinho has been deploying him in an entirely different deeper role for two games now and it has been effective so far. The Portuguese has shifted Matic slightly higher in the field and has opted for Fellaini in the Matic role. This has worked well in two ways so far – Fellaini’s woody clumsiness no longer affects United’s fluid attacking football and his big frame contributes to defensive stability.

Against Watford, the Belgian regularly slid in between the two centre-backs and allowed the fullbacks to operate at a higher position. It also allowed Matic to play a slightly attacking role, where his assured passing and interceptions were an added bonus. Fellaini was not entirely convincing in the role and looks like a temporary option until Fred gets his act right, but it was enough to see off a stubborn Watford side. The Belgian’s presence was crucial for each goal and he also picked up an assist when his header was turned into the net by Smalling.

#4 Victor Lindelof

United’s defensive woes have been a concern this season and it is heartening to see Lindelof growing in stature with each passing game. With the knowledge and assurance of the same defensive partner for the second game running, the Swede is slowly beginning to unfold his natural game and against Watford, had another solid 90 minutes under his belt.

With a strong, fast and hard tackling partner alongside him and also the security of the big Belgian around, Lindelof started the game strong. His positioning was very well throughout the game and his quality on the ball was also evident. He picked up the ball well and showed the composure that had labelled him as the ‘Ice Man’ before. He regularly spread the ball nicely, trying to find Young and even Sanchez with long passes. Lindelof was regularly guilty last season of being too soft, but against Watford showed great strength, especially during counters when he refused to allow the Deeney to turn. He was also strong in his tackles, but unfortunately, there was nothing much he could do for the goal.

Watford regularly defended deep, relying to catch United on the break. Lindelof was often in a position to break the counter and whenever this team needed an outlet, he always made himself available as an option for the pass. He was also on position to make vital interceptions around the penalty box. He will be disappointed with the goal but should be happy with his stellar outing.

#3 Chris Smalling

It is a pity that United could not hold on for a clean sheet because Smalling had a great all-round game. He was fabulous with his covering headers and threw himself around to defend his goal at times. Yet there are concerns during his defending, especially since he is still clumsy at times. Also, during defending corners and set pieces, Smalling has a habit of grabbing his opponents illegally, something that could easily draw a penalty and against Watford, he could not restrain himself from his behaviour either. Yet, all the other aspects of his game was spotless and when you score a goal, every shortcoming is forgiven.

Smalling has always been dangerous at set pieces and against Watford, he showed encouraging desire and hunger to get to the end of the set-piece balls. It was from one of these set pieces that Smalling showed his goalscoring ability. Young’s corner was directed straight at Fellaini, who headed the ball at Smalling. The Englishman had already given his marker the slip and managed to control the ball beautifully on his chest and then unleashed a first-time volley from close range which would have made Zlatan proud! His joy at scoring the goal highlighted how much it meant to him and as of now, he and Lindelof remain the ideal centre-back pair for United this season.

#2 David De Gea

Time and again, the Spaniard has been instrumental in United’s performances. It has been a tough summer for him, where he was criticized for his poor performances. Unfortunately for him, his start to the new Premier League season has not been too good either. However, De Gea has not been poor by any means so far for United, he was just unlucky. And against Watford, even though the first clean sheet of the season still eluded him, De Gea was instrumental for United’s 3 points.

First, he made a fine save to deny Deeney when the scores were still at 0-0. United’s defensive problems are widely discussed, but people still forget that they have De Gea, perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world right now. And De Gea showed again why he is so highly regarded in the footballing world. He makes good saves look so easy that they are considered normal. Unfortunately for him, there was no way he could have stopped Gray from scoring.

However, in the dying minutes of the game, De Gea highlighted his importance to this United side yet again. Matic had just received marching orders after his second yellow card of the game and United had a set piece to defend without the influential Serbian. And De Gea, as always, was United’s saviour, making a crucial save from the free kick to keep the score at 2-1. Without him, United would have definitely drawn the game.

#1 RomeLukaku

The Belgian had a good International break, scoring two goals and he continued his goal scoring form into this game. At a time when United was written off by almost everyone, given Watford’s start to the Premier League, Lukaku scored early to calm the nerves and give United a much-needed confidence after a good start to the game. It wasn’t the most visually pleasing effort, but the Belgian made a vital connection to Young’s cross, with his tummy it seemed, to direct the ball past a hapless Foster. Doesn’t matter where they come from as long as they go in!

But Lukaku contributed with so much more than just his goal. He was monumental during defending set pieces, he worked beautifully with Lingard and Sanchez, who were both poor on the night. He provided fascinating speed on the counter, pushing the Watford defence back. And his hold up play was excellent too. He drifted to the right to allow Lingard space in the middle and he dropped down to let Sanchez make his runs inside. He stretched the defence and then almost set up Sanchez deep into the second half. And he tracked back like a raging bull when United was defending at the dying moments of the game. He showed desire, not just to score, but also to hold on to the lead and he was vital in United picking up an important away win.

Edited by Anirban Banerjee