Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic on to mark Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes
Red Devils needed to survive a late fightback from the Hornets despite being 3-0 up at half time
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho reportedly brought on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to mark Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes at corners.
The Hornets fought back to 3-2 after going into the dressing room 3-0 down at half time.
Mourinho was preparing to send on Ibrahimovic to help defend a 3-2 lead when Jesse Lingard scored a brilliant solo effort.
And the United boss apparently revealed after the game that he wanted the Swede to mark Gomes if Watford sent the keeper up.
Ibra replaced Lingard straight after his solo goal and the England midfielder was given a huge ovation by the travelling support.
United's three-goal lead came courtesy of Ashley Young's brilliant double and an Anthony Martial strike.
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Watford struck back through Deeney's penalty and Abdoulaye Doucoure but could not take advantage of their momentum to grab a third.
After the win, Mourinho said: “I prefer to forget the five minutes where we conceded the two goals.
“I prefer to focus on all the good things we did. To play away from home and score four goals, we could have scored seven, eight; this was very, very good.
“They came with everything, they had no problems, they gave us a couple of minutes of real pressure, where we felt anything could happen. This is football.”
“What we needed to do was go back to our defensive stability, which we lost when Matic had to come out. But the important thing is the three points
“For Matic to tell me he wants to be replaced, he does not do that if it is nothing important.”