More misery is heaped on Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Watford seal a deserved Premier League victory at Vicarage Road.
In an electrifying first half, United were unable to deal with the high pressing of a well organised Hornets side and quickly found themselves in danger when Scott McTominay bundled forward Joshua King inside the box.
But United goalkeeper David de Gea came to the rescue as the Spaniard saved not one, but two Ismaila Sarr penalties. Each of the Senegal winger’s efforts were tame but Kiko Femenia managed to turn in the rebound from the first spot-kick, only for the goal to be ruled out because of player encroachment from both teams.
It was not long, however, before Sarr rectified his penalty misses by sending a right-footed shot across de Gea’s goal to double Watford’s lead after King had opened the scoring thanks to Emmanuel Dennis’ assist.
A second-half uprising saw forgotten man Donny van de Beek – brought on to replace McTominay, who received a yellow card – put the ball in the net from Cristiano Ronaldo’s knock down following England winger Jadon Sancho’s searching cross.
But the nightmare continued for Solskjaer as Harry Maguire was booked twice in seven minutes and sent off.
A slither of hope looked to have arrived on 77 minutes when the lively Van de Beek found Ronaldo with a through-ball but the Portugal captain’s goal was ruled out for offside.
In the dying moments of the game, to the delight of the loud Watford faithful, Joao Pedro and Dennis added a third and fourth for Watford to pile more heartbreak on the travelling United supporters.
The defeat means United have tumbled down the table to seventh on 17 points, while Claudio Ranieri’s side are only four points behind them in 16th.
Can Solskjaer survive this latest setback?
In the hours before Manchester United kicked off at Vicarage Road, Cristiano Ronaldo posted on Instagram: “Time to roll up the sleeves once again and just get the job done! Let’s chase what we are trying to achieve this season!”
What the 13-time Premier League champions full objectives are this campaign remain to be seen, but a defeat against Ranieri’s Watford will only add more fuel to the pressure pit Solskjaer finds himself in.
After Manchester City cruised to victory at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, the Norwegian said his team had “worked on a few things” this week in order to stop the rot and fall further adrift of the title front-runners.
Unfortunately, Ranieri’s tactics managed to dismantle the “few things” Solskjaer would have been banking on to deliver his team a much-needed three points.
The dismal display was summed by the contrasting performances of Bruno Fernandes and Van de Beek.
Fernandes, so often the main attraction for United, saw his wretched pass contribute to Watford being awarded a penalty in the first half. By the second 45 minutes, the Portugal international watched a shot balloon miles over the crossbar when on any other day, it might have been the creative masterstroke that saved Solskjaer’s skin.
Van de Beek, on the other hand, was once again relegated to the bench; not even given a place in the starting XI in order to give McTominay – who was reportedly suffering with a sore throat, chance to recover.
Yet the Dutchman was a bright spark and looked to have thrown his manager a lifeline when his header found its way past Hornet’s keeper Ben Foster. Whether Van de Beek’s second-half stint is enough for Solskjaer to keep faith in him for the Champions League group game with Villarreal on Tuesday is a hard question to answer.
In terms of the Premier League, United now have only one win in seven games, and four points from a possible 21. Will Ole still be at the wheel?
Celebration time for Watford
While all the headlines will be aimed towards how long Solskjær has left at Old Trafford, nothing should be taken away from Watford.
In times gone by, failing to convert two spot-kicks against United would have been heavily punished but as the raucous crowd sang “you’re getting sacked in the morning” towards the opposition dugout, the Hornet’s fans were confident a home win was a done deal.
Life at Vicarage Road has been anything but dull for Ranieri since the Italian took over last month. In the five league games the well-travelled boss has been in charge, Watford have scored nine goals and conceded 10.
Watford
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Squad number7Player nameKingAverage rating
8.60
-
Squad number23Player nameSarrAverage rating
8.49
-
Squad number25Player nameDennisAverage rating
8.47
-
Squad number8Player nameCleverleyAverage rating
8.31
-
Squad number19Player nameSissokoAverage rating
8.28
-
Squad number10Player nameJoão PedroAverage rating
8.25
-
Squad number6Player nameLouzaAverage rating
8.24
-
Squad number1Player nameFosterAverage rating
8.19
-
Squad number5Player nameTroost-EkongAverage rating
8.12
-
Squad number11Player nameMasinaAverage rating
8.12
-
Squad number13Player nameNkoulouAverage rating
8.07
-
Squad number15Player nameCathcartAverage rating
8.06
-
Squad number21Player nameKiko FemenÃaAverage rating
8.00
-
Squad number29Player nameCucho HernándezAverage rating
7.98
Manchester United
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Squad number34Player namevan de BeekAverage rating
6.71
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Squad number1Player namede GeaAverage rating
4.36
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Squad number7Player nameCristiano RonaldoAverage rating
3.99
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Squad number25Player nameSanchoAverage rating
3.44
-
Squad number14Player nameLingardAverage rating
3.31
-
Squad number10Player nameRashfordAverage rating
2.90
-
Squad number18Player nameBruno FernandesAverage rating
2.80
-
Squad number20Player nameDiogo DalotAverage rating
2.70
-
Squad number9Player nameMartialAverage rating
2.59
-
Squad number23Player nameShawAverage rating
2.54
-
Squad number29Player nameWan-BissakaAverage rating
2.54
-
Squad number31Player nameMaticAverage rating
2.52
-
Squad number2Player nameLindelöfAverage rating
2.50
-
Squad number39Player nameMcTominayAverage rating
2.43
-
Squad number5Player nameMaguireAverage rating
1.86
Line-ups
Watford
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Foster
- 21FemenÃa
- 15Cathcart
- 13NkoulouSubstituted forTroost-Ekongat 64’minutes
- 11Masina
- 19Sissoko
- 23SarrSubstituted forHernández Suárezat 68’minutes
- 6LouzaBooked at 45minsSubstituted forJoão Pedroat 77’minutes
- 8Cleverley
- 25DennisBooked at 90mins
- 7King
Substitutes
- 2Ngakia
- 3Rose
- 5Troost-Ekong
- 10João Pedro
- 16Gosling
- 17Fletcher
- 18Tufan
- 26Bachmann
- 29Hernández Suárez
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 2Lindelöf
- 5MaguireBooked at 69mins
- 23ShawSubstituted forDalotat 85’minutes
- 39McTominayBooked at 19minsSubstituted forvan de Beekat 45’minutes
- 31Matic
- 25SanchoSubstituted forLingardat 90+1’minutes
- 18Bruno Fernandes
- 10RashfordSubstituted forMartialat 45’minutes
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
Substitutes
- 3Bailly
- 8Mata
- 9Martial
- 14Lingard
- 17Fred
- 20Dalot
- 22Heaton
- 27Telles
- 34van de Beek
- Referee:
- Jonathan Moss
Live Text
Match ends, Watford 4, Manchester United 1.
Full Time