Manchester United came away with all three points against Watford after a chaotic finale at Vicarage Road, which saw the Reds fight off a Hornets revival to win 4-2.
José Mourinho switched to three at the back for this one, with Marcos Rojo coming in after missing out at the weekend, but it was Ashley Young who stole the spotlight in the first-half, continuing his surprising scoring streak with two spectacular goals.
The first was a drilled effort from just outside the area that gave Heurelho Gomes no chance, while the second was even better – a free-kick that was bent right into the top left-hand corner. Watford had been the better side up to that point, but United’s ruthlessness was on show for all to see.
And it would be three just past the half-hour mark, as Anthony Martial was sent through on goal and made no mistake, slotting past Gomes and giving the Reds a dominant lead heading into half-time.
But United sat off after the break, slowly inviting pressure from Watford and it almost backfired spectacularly with 12 minutes remaining. Rojo clumsily brought down Roberto Pereyra in the area, and substitute Troy Deeney stepped up to fire home the resulting penalty.
Then, with six minutes to play, Abdoulaye Doucoure pulled another back for Marco Silva’s side, stabbing home Andre Carrillo’s cross. It was all set for a nervy final for United, with Watford’s hopes renewed…
However, those Watford hopes were extinguished quickly. With his final act of the game, Jesse Lingard picked up the ball in his own half, drove forward, twisting and turning several Watford defenders before drilling the ball past Gomes to seal the three points.
Here are the player ratings after a dramatic finale at Vicarage Road:
