More distress has piled up on the success of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Saturday as Watford secured a well-deserved Premier League win over crowded Vicarage Road.
In an exhilarating first half, United were unable to cope with the high pressure of a well-organized Hornets and quickly found themselves in danger as Scott McTominay clamped down on striker Joshua King in the box.
But United goalkeeper David de Gea appeared to save the day as the Spaniard saved not one but two Ismaila Sarr penalties. The Senegal winger’s every effort was thwarted but Kiko Femenia was back on the spot from the first penalty kick, only to have his goal disqualified due to an intrusion by players from both teams.
However, it wasn’t long before Sarr corrected his penalty by firing a right-footed shot over de Gea’s goal to double Watford’s lead after King opened the scoring with an Emmanuel Dennis assist.
A second-half revolt saw forgotten man Donny van de Beek – brought on for McTominay, who received a yellow card – put the ball into the net after Cristiano Ronaldo’s fall following a searching pass by English winger Jadon Sancho.
But the nightmare continued for Solskjaer as Harry Maguire was booked twice in seven minutes and sent off.
A hope seemed to have come in the 77th minute after the lively Van de Beek found Ronaldo with a penetrating pass but the Portugal captain’s goal was ruled out for offside.
In the dying moments of the game, to the delight of Watford’s loud loyalists, Joao Pedro and Dennis added a third and a fourth for Watford to leave United supporters even more heartbroken.
The loss means United have dropped to eighth place with 17 points, while Claudio Ranieri’s side are just four points behind them in 15th.
Than to follow.
How to play
Rank the player out of 10 during or after the match. The ranker will end 30 minutes after the final whistle blows.
Evaluation range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Formation
Watford
The making progress 4-1-4-1
- firstFeeder
- 21Femenia
- 15Cathcart
- 13NkoulouReplaced forTroost-Ekongin sixty four ‘minute
- 11Masina
- 19Sissoko
- 23SarrReplaced forHernandez Suárezin 68′minute
- 6LouzaBooked 45 minutes in advanceReplaced forJoao Pedroin 77′minute
- 8Cleverley
- 25DennisSet at 90 minutes
- 7King
Alternative products
- 2Ngakia
- 3rose
- 5Troost-Ekong
- tenJoao Pedro
- 16Gosling
- 17Fletcher
- 18Tufan
- 26Bachmann
- 29Hernandez Suárez
Man Utd
The making progress 4-2-3-1
- firstde Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 2Lindelof
- 5MaguireSet at 69 minutes
- 23ShawReplaced forDalotin 85′minute
- 39McTominayPre-ordered at 19 minutesReplaced forvan de Beekin 45′minute
- thirty firstMatic
- 25SanchoReplaced forLingardin 90 + 1′minute
- 18Bruno Fernandes
- tenRashfordReplaced forMartial artsin 45′minute
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
Alternative products
- 3Bailly
- 8Mata
- 9Martial arts
- 14Lingard
- 17Fred
- 20Dalot
- 22Heaton
- 27Tell
- 34van de Beek
Direct Text
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Game over, Watford 4, Manchester United 1.
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Second half ended, Watford 4, Manchester United 1.
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Emmanuel Dennis (Watford) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
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Scored! Watford 4, Manchester United 1. Shot by Emmanuel Dennis (Watford) right-footed from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Powered by Ben Foster.
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Scored! Watford 3, Manchester United 1. Shot by João Pedro (Watford) right footed from a difficult angle on the right to the bottom right corner. Powered by Emmanuel Dennis.
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Attempted to save. João Pedro (Watford) right footed shot from the center of the box is wide and wide. Cucho Hernández provided the cross.
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Substitute, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard replaces Jadon Sancho.
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DO NOT ENTER!!!! João Pedro (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left of the goal. Powered by Cucho Hernández.
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Corner, Watford. Conceded by Diogo Dalot.
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DO NOT ENTER!!!! João Pedro (Watford) header from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Cucho Hernández provided the assist after a corner.
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Substitute, Manchester United. Diogo Dalot replaces Luke Shaw with injury.
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Corner, Watford. Due to Luke Shaw’s concessions.
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Corner, Watford. Delivered by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
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DO NOT ENTER!!!! Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Cristiano Ronaldo assist.
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Offside, Manchester United. Donny van de Beek tries to make a ball pass, but Cristiano Ronaldo is offside.
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Substitute, Watford. João Pedro replaces Imran Louza.
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DO NOT ENTER!!!! Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) header from the center of the box is a little too high. Supported by Jadon Sancho with a cross.
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Luke Shaw (Manchester United) is awarded a free kick in the home half.
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Tom Cleverley (Watford) fouled.
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DO NOT ENTER!!!! Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right. Powered by Donny van de Beek.
