Old but golden as Mata finds a magic touch
Free kick stuns battling Watford
SO much has been made of the spirit of youth at Manchester United in recent days. The startling emergence of Marcus Rashford and all those young debutants blooded by Louis van Gaal.
But when it really mattered at Old Trafford last night, for a United team that started the match with an average age of just 23, it was the oldest man in their ranks who came up with the goods.
There were 83 minutes on the clock when Juan Mata stepped up to take a freekick on the edge of the box. The technique was perfect, the execution unerring as the 27-year-old sent it over the Watford wall and beyond the despairing dive of keeper Heurelho Gomes.
The ground erupted. That’s four wins in the space of 10 days. Who knows what this one will do for United’s chances of finishing in the top-four on a night when Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham lost.
Defeat was harsh on Watford but they only had themselves to blame. Odion Ighalo knows he exposed United’s defensive shortcomings on a number of occasions without scoring.
But there was no mistaking the feelgood factor around Old Trafford that three wins in the space of six days — against Shrewsbury Town, FC Midtjylland and Arsenal — had brought to the place, easing the latest storm to engulf Van Gaal.
However, each time United appear ready to take off under their Dutch coach, they have been brought back down to earth with a bump, so an air of caution was to be expected.
Indeed, not since they beat Watford with a late own goal by Troy Deeney at Vicarage Road in November had Van Gaal’s side won back-to-back games in the Premier League.
The latest surge of optimism had followed the remarkable emergence of Rashford, the pick of the young United players Van Gaal has been forced to blood because of a chronic injury list.
Six of them had made their debuts in the last five matches alone and another new name, midfielder Joe Rothwell, was on the bench last night having made just four starts for the Under 21 team this season. After scoring those four goals in two games — from five efforts on target, no less — Rashford kept his place despite the return of £58million summer signing Anthony Martial.
And Tim Fosu-Mensah made a full debut in central defence aged just 18.
It was Martial who had the first opportunity of the game in the ninth minute after forcing Miguel Britos into conceding a corner. It was played short to Ander Herrera whose deep cross to the back post picked out the Frenchman but he guided his header wide.
The muscular Fosu-Mensah was more than a match for Deeney in a crunching 50-50 challenge that sent the Watford No 9 flying and set up another United attack soon after.
Unfortunately, Memphis Depay’s promising run ended with a finish so wild that it went out for a throw-in on the other side of the pitch with a little help from the swirling wind.
Another Depay effort came close to hitting the corner flag but Morgan Schneiderlin’s aim was significantly better in the 19th minute when his dipping volley, after Watford had cleared a freekick to the edge of the box, arched just wide of the post. Until then Watford had been limited to a couple of tame efforts from Ihghalo and a handful of set-pieces — not least when Fosu-Mensah was booked for a clumsy challenge on Etienne Capoue.
But Ighalo went desperately close to an opening goal in the 36th minute, controlling Deeney’s flick-on and spinning Marcos Rojo before drilling a shot the wrong side of David de Gea’s right-hand post.
And another opportunity presented itself to the Nigeria striker eight minutes before half-time following a mix-up between Daley Blind and Rojo on the touchline. Ighalo stole possession and raced through on goal but Fosu-Mensah did enough to knock him out of his stride and De Gea did the rest. United were doing their best to gift the Watford man a goal and De Gea had to come to their rescue again in the 42nd minute when Blind’s decision to let Guillermo Varela’s back-pass roll through to his goalkeeper let Ighalo in again.
Watford continued to threaten after the break, Capoue hitting a 40-yard piledriver that whistled over the bar.
Rashford then showed his value to United at the other end of the pitch, heading off the line after Sebastian Prodl met Ben Watson’s corner with a header just inside the post.
United responded. Mata forced Heurelho Gomes into a smart save from 20 yards and then swung a second attempt just off target, while Rashford’s low cross following a dash down the right wing was deflected across the Watford six-yard box.
Watford could still have snatched it though, and Prodl nearly did in the 80th minute when he somehow headed wide from two yards out under pressure from Matteo Darmian.
Then Britos fouled Martial on the edge of the box. Up stepped Mata. Game over.