Louis van Gaal’s men pick up 2-1 win at Watford
Manchester United have climbed to the top of the Premier League after beating Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road.
It was the first Premier League game since the tragedy in Paris last Friday, so before the game, the two teams came together as a mark of respect with the French national anthem being played around the ground.
Louis van Gaal had issues of his own going into the match, with six first-team players all out injured, including Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney.
Match Summary
Due to the striking duo being sidelined, Van Gaal started with Memphis Depay up top alongside Jesse Lingard, and it took just 11-minutes for Memphis to payback the manager as he cooly gave United the lead.
Ander Herrera picked out a wonderful cross, which was volleyed home nicely by the Dutchman.
That’s how the game stayed going into the half-time interval, with neither side really creating many chances.
With just 20-minutes left, Watford were knocking on the United door, and when the ball fell to Almen Abdi in the penalty box, it looked like they were about to celebrate an equaliser.
However, David De Gea got down brilliantly to deny the Hornets man and keep the score at 1-0.
It didn’t stay that way for long however as Marcos Rojo needlessly brought down Odion Ighalo in the penalty area, leaving the referee with no choice but to reward the penalty.
Troy Deeney stepped up and smashed the ball home past De Gea with just three minutes remaining.
It didn’t end there though. After the ball from Lingard fell into the box, it kindly fell to Bastian Schweinsteiger at the far post, who’s low-driven cross got converted by Deeney into his own net.
The game ended on a sour not for Deeney and Watford, but it’s all three points for Van Gaal’s men.
United sit top for now, while Watford remain 11th.
Match Reaction
Bastian Scheweinsteiger, speaking to BT Sport:Â “In football you always have 90-93 minutes. You always have to believe. There was a bit of luck but we are happy to get the three points.
“You have to sniff a little bit of danger, the angle was not so easy but of course he touched the ball.
“The three points was very important for us. Next match we play Leicester, difficult, but if we win that too then we are happy in the Premier League.”
“David De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. We are happy that he stayed here, he made a lot of good saves and you need a good goalkeeper when you want to win something.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
