THE VERDICT: WATFORD 2 UNITED 4
UNITED supporters heartily chanted Eric Cantona’s name at Vicarage Road, but that was never going to be an endorsement of the Frenchman’s recent comments. Cantona admitted he would prefer to have Pep Guardiola in the Old Trafford dugout than Jose Mourinho. Not on this showing.
“Jose’s playing the way United should,” the Reds roared before the half-hour mark at Watford. The Reds had exhibited the kind of ruthless football their manager has pined for in recent weeks.
To quote one of Ferguson’s adages, they didn’t make it easy for themselves, though. Frivolous finishing at 3-0 and a pedestrian tempo encouraged Watford to rally with two goals in the last 15 minutes. Then Jesse Lingard ignored Romelu Lukaku and went solo to score a goal as majestic as one of Cantona’s.
The night really did belong to Ashley Young, though. The dubious goals panel denied Young United’s winner against Brighton so the converted full-back walloped two in at his old ground five minutes apart.
The 32-year-old firstly rifled an instinctive strike from just outside the corner of the area before bending it like Beckham from a direct free-kick.
It was Young’s first two-goal performance for United since Tottenham away in March 2012, and his stock is higher than it was in his debut season under Ferguson, himself serenaded by the raucous travelling supporters.
Five Premier League clubs enquired about Young this year and he came closer to leaving United than many supporters thought. Without him, their attack would be lopsided and he is an early contender for the club’s player of the year. No-one else at the Reds has improved as much as he has since Ferguson headed upstairs.
United’s incumbent manager was championed ardently by the 2,158 followers who watched their team go in at half-time 3-0 up.
United recorded the same interval scoreline at CSKA Moscow in September but Watford was a much more stirring statement. The Hornets put three past Liverpool, beat Arsenal and scored twice at Chelsea. United made them look like relegation fodder.
Mourinho had to sternly advise Martial and Romelu Lukaku during the first half. Both had made careless starts until Christian Kabasele stepped out of defence in the 32nd minute and Lukaku played the ball into the yawning chasm which his strike partner surged into. Martial effortlessly matched last term’s eight-goal haul.
The Reds manager remained seated as the goals flew in, yet a smile began to curl on assistant Rui Faria’s lips. United’s switch to 3-5-2, with Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard pushed ahead of Nemanja Matic, had flummoxed their hosts. Lingard played Young in for the first and Pogba earned the set-piece his team-mate converted.
Mourinho reverted to a back three in the build-up to ‘big six’ tests with Tottenham and Chelsea last month and he is doing similarly on the eve of the upcoming encounters at Arsenal and the derby Deeney (77 pen), Doucouré (84) Young (19, 25), Martial (32), Lingard (86) 59% 41% 12 15 5 5 20,552 Mariappa, Doucouré Rojo Jonathan Moss on December 10. Marcos Rojo returned at Watford alongside Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof, whose steady start offset his defensive colleagues’ early jitters.
Nemanja Matic gingerly sauntered off in the 55th minute for Ander Herrera as Mourinho unravelled the cotton wool ahead of Saturday’s trip to Arsenal.
Lukaku squandered a presentable chance to net United’s fourth and on 76 minutes Rojo - who conceded a penalty at Watford two years ago - clumsily gifted them another which substitute Troy Deeney converted.
Then Abdoulaye Doucoure made it 3-2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was waiting to come on when Lingard took the ball into the Watford half and scored a screamer.
United supporters had by then gone through their repertoire of former players’ songs, with John O’Shea, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes remembered.
Scholes and Rio Ferdinand stood yards away from Mourinho before kickoff.
They can’t have been the only legends who were impressed.