Watford 1-2 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Well, all that 3rd season syndrome talk could now be brushed aside for a bit now. The Hornets, who got off to a flyer this season, have finally been stung in their nest and it took the Red Devils to hand Watford their first defeat and gift themselves a position of comfort with relation to how things were about 3 weeks ago.

It was Romelu Lukaku who quite literally bodied the ball in after Ashley Young swept in a cross from the left flank following some commotion inside the penalty area caused by a corner kick. Smalling hit the back of the net shortly afterwards with a striker's finish at the end of a training ground corner routine with Fellaini as its centrepiece.

Watford threatened to come back into the game as Andre Gray slotted one past De Gea in the 65th minute. But United's defensive organization coupled with some David de Gea heroics ensured the Red Devils won their second consecutive away game.

The only source of worry for Jose Mourinho would be the red card (second yellow) that Matic received for a tactical foul in the 93rd minute.

Without further ado, let's look at the 5 talking points from the game:

#5 Manchester United's set-piece dominance

A few really tall men

Manchester United have some big players in their lineup. In fact, scoring directly from a freekick against the Red Devils is a whole different ball game as players like Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku form the wall.

On the other end, they are just as menacing. While much has been made of Watford's set-piece abilities, they struggled to hold their own against United. With Fellaini in the lineup, he was always expected to be the target man in set-piece situations. It was Fellaini who kicked off the move for the first goal.

Their second goal was straight out of the training ground. You could see that from the way Jose Mourinho was celebrating with his coaching staff in the dugout. Ashley Young picked out Marouane Fellaini on the far side of the box from the corner. The big Belgian sent it straight at Smalling's chest and the Englishman channelled his inner Harry Kane to roundhouse it home.

This was Manchester United playing to their strengths and they should try to do a whole lot more of that.

#4 Watford still got plenty to be optimistic about

Watford were all energy once again

In the first 25 minutes of the game, it was clear why Watford had got off to the perfect start in this campaign. Their energy and willingness to get on the ball and not give their opposition a moment of peace tested United.

Will Hughes put in a shift once again and he was perhaps the only Watford player who looked capable of troubling Mourinho's men as the Hornets started getting pegged back in their own half.

Abdoulaye Doucoure was excellent yet again and his passing and trickery helped Watford raise the caution levels at the back for United.

#3 Two tough tests passed and Mourinho still makes sense

Mourinho looked much more positive in the tactical area

When Jose Mourinho was applauded by the fans after their defeat to Spurs, it was solely because the team went forward with more intent and flavour that night. They repeated that against Burnley and got all 3 points.

At Vicarage Road, it was again United's newly found unrelenting drive to get in the danger areas that got them the win.

Alexis Sanchez is slowly getting back to the player he was. In the last 2 games, he's hardly put a foot wrong and though he doesn't have a goal to show for it, he was quite brilliant down the left flank.

Paul Pogba was keeping it simple and Pogba's simplicity is good enough to embellish matches. His spectacular diagonals were played with such a positively casual demeanour that Paul Scholes would have sat in his studio going 'not bad'.

Amidst all the buzz, people seem to be ignoring the fact that Romelu Lukaku's been scoring goals at a healthy rate. His hold up play has improved and he looks menacing everytime he gets on the ball thanks to his strength and pace.

Smalling was immense at the back. He was winning the aerial duels at the back and scored a stunner, albeit, from close range. He was all heart once again as he put his body on the line and kept mistakes to a minimum. He has now scored in 8 of the 9 seasons he's been at United. The only season he hasn't scored is when he suffered an injury and played oly 15 times.

Chris Smalling belongs at Manchester United. That hairdo, however, doesn't.

Jose Mourinho hardly looks like a man traversing through crisis. For now, he remains the right man for the job.

#2 Javi Gracia has revitalized this Watford side

Javi Gracia

Javi Gracia has induced a sense of discipline and ruthless professionalism into this Watford side and they look all set to be the new season's underdogs.

The Hornets are a more cohesive unit and Gracia left his starting XI from the win against Spurs unchanged. For all their industry and quality, they were afforded a route back into the game and Doucoure combined with Gray inside the box to pull one back for the men in yellow.

Watford kept plugging away, posing a threat everytime they stole the ball off United and set out on the counter. However, they'll just need to count themselves unlucky and the primary reason for that would be that...

#1 David de Gea in a United shirt is a different monster

De Gea denies Watford parity

David de Gea looks less assured at the back for Spain than he does for United and that's a fact. What is a United victory without a spectacular David de Gea save after all, eh?

The Spaniard whose place among the all-time greats was brought into contention following an underwhelming outing at the World Cup, kept making vital saves and his performance was a masterclass in shot-stopping.

United would have had to deal with heavy heartbreak if not for a spectacular save by de Gea in the dying embers of the game.

With de Gea peaking at the right time, Mourinho could yet no pull all his remaining hair out worrying about that defence.