It was a dramatic display of football at the Vicarage Road as the visiting team Manchester United bagged a victory in the ending moments of the game. A scrappy 0-1 win for United was expected as the Red Devils were facing an injury crisis leading to missing out on big names like Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia, Anthony Martial and Michael Carrick for the game. Fellaini wasn’t a part, too. However, things went better than expected for the English giants.
The match kicked off at 12:45 GMT as Manchester United gained themselves an early lead. Memphis Depay netted in the 11th minute as he volleyed Ander Herrera’s cross. This boosted the team’s confidence and also the fans were glad to see Memphis back on the score-sheet as no one would have expected that the Dutchman would score today. Things were going in United’s favour until Watford won a penalty and skipper Deeney converted it into a goal. This was the equalizer and it took place just 4 minutes before the end of the game. It looked as if United had bottled the game and were going to leave with a disappointing draw, but a blockbuster finish was in the store for them! Bastian Schweinsteiger drifted the ball just near the goal line and Deeney shot it into his own net. This goal in injury time turned the whole match and Bastian was seen rejoicing the winner. Although it was announced as an own goal, the madness among the players was crazy, no one had predicted such a lively end!
Ander Herrera was seen celebrating the goal in the dugout as gaffer LvG, too looked happy and satisfied with the victory. With the dramatic end, Manchester United went home with a 1-2 victory over Watford and the club is currently 2nd on the table.
Here are player ratings from the game:
Watford:
Gomes 7 – Defensive contribution was average, made two good saves
Nyom 7- Almost scored in the early half of the game, decent gameplay
Cathcart 6- Shaky performance, let Memphis go past him and score
Britos 8- Defended well, unlike the rest
Anya 6- Didn’t serve well at LB, did better when pushed forward
Watson 6- Was BOOKED, played safe, blocked Memphis’ chances’
Capoue 7- Good display by him could’ve done better in CM
Abdi 6- Was sort of silent in the game but nearly netted a goal in the latter half of the game
Deeney 7- Scored from the penalty but unfortunate to eventually gift the win to United
Jurado 5- Bad game, him being substituted made sense, wasn’t good today at all
Ighalo 8- Massive threat to the entire United squad sadly missed the net
SUBS
Ake (came on for Jurado) – 5
Paredes(came on for Nyom) – 5
Manchester United:
David de Gea 9- Brilliant saves, easily the best player in the game
Young 7- BOOKED, had a tough time at the RB position
Jones 7- Decent game, locked in a great fight with Ighalo
Smalling 9 – Great as always, bold knock to stop Deeney from scoring
Blind 7 – Good contribution in defense and midfield, equally
Schneiderlin 9- amazing game for him, broke up Watford moves
Schweinsteiger 8 – Calm and composed as ever, almost scored the winner in injury time
Mata 6 – Poor game for him performed below expectations
Herrera 7 – Provided a phenomenal assist to the first goal, unlucky to walk off the pitch with an injury
Lingard 6 – Energetic and pacy but missed chances to score
Memphis 8 – Unexpectedly performed well, great first goal
SUBS
Rojo (came on for Herrera) 6
McNair (came on for Jones) 7
Pereira (came on for Mata) 6