United spirit delights Jose

– Jose Mourinho hailed the spirit of his Manchester United team after they withstood intense late pressure from early Premier League pacesetters Watford to win 2-1 and relieve the pressure on his shoulders.

United have endured a miserable start to the season, losing two of their first four matches and slipping well off the searing pace set by Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford themselves.

But two goals in three first-half minutes from in-form Romelu Lukaku (above) and Chris Smalling gave them valuable breathing space at half-time and ultimately paved the way to a victory that ended Watford’s perfect record.

Watford pulled a goal back midway through the second period through Andre Gray but failed to find an equaliser.

Mourinho singled out Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini for praise.

“I’m very happy with the points,” he said. “I’m very happy with something that represents for me the spirit of the team -which is a Lukaku sliding tackle after 50 metres running back to help the team.” –

Watford