Wednesday 29 November 2017 12:00, UK
Manchester United survived a second-half fightback from Watford to win 4-2 at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.
Ashley Young's double and Anthony Martial's cool finish gave the visitors a 3-0 lead at the break before a Troy Deeney penalty and Abdoulaye Doucoure volley set up an exciting finish until Jesse Lingard's fine fourth for United ended the contest.
Here, we round up the talking points from the game…
Brilliant Lingard's magic moment
Jesse Lingard scores some special goals. This one, to stop Watford's remarkable fightback in its tracks, will make his 'best of' montages, along with those wonderful Wembley strikes against Crystal Palace and Leicester.
With the momentum all with Watford and the home fans roaring their team forward in the final minutes as they searched for a third goal in a row to salvage an unlikely point, United needed to hit back. And Lingard delivered a devastating blow.
He picked the ball up midway into his own half and charged forwards. Romelu Lukaku darted to his right but Lingard veered left as he sped away from former United man Tom Cleverley. All alone as he approached the area and with Adrian Mariappa and Christian Kabasele still to beat it looked like Lingard had found a dead end.
Instead, a twist back to the right took him past both Watford men before he clipped a shot across Heurelho Gomes and into the corner. He flexed his muscles in front of the rapturous away fans in celebration. It was breathless. It was brilliant. It was a goal-of-the-season contender. "What a goal," said Jose Mourinho afterwards.
Watford just fall short of stunning comeback
Watford seemed down and out as they trudged off at half-time three goals behind. Shell-shocked by two stunners from Young and Anthony Martial's clinical finish, a painful 45 minutes appeared to await them.
But Silva transformed their mood during the break. "Go out there and play our game, forget the result and play like it is 0-0," he revealed he had told them. With renewed intent, Troy Deeney leading the charge - and United complacent, as Mourinho conceded - Watford put the visitors on the back foot.
A rash challenge from Marcos Rojo on Roberto Pereyra allowed the Watford skipper to pull one back from the penalty spot. Silva felt the United defender should have received a second yellow for the foul but, even against 11 Watford grabbed the upper hand. When Abdoulaye Doucoure volleyed in a second a grandstand finish was on the cards - although Lingard's heroics denied Watford a dramatic finale.
Young at the double on Watford return
After spending 11 years at Watford from the age of 10, Ashley Young was afforded a respectful welcome at Vicarage Road. He didn't repay that generosity on the field. Lashing in a stunning opener from the edge of the box, his salute at the corner flag eventually drew boos. His second goal was even more sweetly struck, a whipped free-kick into the top corner. This time his celebration was even more emphatic; the boos even louder.
The 32-year-old will care little about that - he's in fine form. After his strike against Brighton was deflected in by Lewis Dunk at the weekend, his first two goals of this campaign underlined his impressive season so far, in which he's proved to be a revelation at left wing-back for Jose Mourinho.
His form earned him a recall to the England squad this month after four years out of the national team set up and, as well as his goals on Tuesday, he delivered another fine performance to help United to victory on his former home ground, topping the tables for interceptions and tackles.
"He's playing really well," said Mourinho. "I know what he can do for us and all the positions he can be useful. The left-back position is adapted to him and in this stage of his career, when he has the maturity and tactical knowledge to play in this position."
Watford's wobbles
The three goals Watford shipped in just 13 first-half minutes meant they had a mountain to climb with just over half an hour played. But conceding clusters of goals has become an unwanted trait of this Watford team.
There were the three goals they let in during the final 19 minutes at Chelsea, the 23-minute treble Everton hit against them at Goodison, West Brom's two in three minutes, Man City's three in 10 minutes, and the two in two minutes Liverpool managed at Vicarage Road in August.
When this Watford side go, they go - and on Tuesday night they'd left themselves too much to do when they re-gathered themselves for their second-half assault. Whether it is the manager on the training field or the leaders on the pitch in the moment of crisis, Watford must find a way to snatch some stability when they're on the ropes.
Lukaku needs to find some shooting boots
Mourinho once again praised Lukaku's all-round contribution to his team on Tuesday night. The assist for Martial's goal backed that up, as did his hard work chasing back defensively as Watford put on the pressure.
But his primary purpose is to hit the net - and his frustration in failing to do that is plain to see. Going into this match he'd scored just one in his past 10 games, after netting 11 in his first 10 for Manchester United. With the ominous sight of Zlatan Ibrahimovic warming up on the touchline, the Belgian became more frantic to make a mark.
It was surprising then, that when his best opening came, he stuttered. Marcus Rashford won possession on the edge of the Watford box and fed Lukaku, eight yards out and with time to pick his spot. He hesitated, the defence recovered and blocked his eventual effort. It was the kind of chance he would have lashed in without a second thought earlier in the season. He badly needs one to go in to bring back some confidence in front of goal.
Afterwards, Mourinho made light of his struggles, blaming his lack of a boot sponsor. "I think he needs a brand to give him the right boots and pay him the right money so he goes back to scoring," joked the United boss.
