Watford 1-2 Manchester United: Depay scores a beauty – 5 talking points from the game

Manchester United climbed to the top of the Premier League table, albeit until Jamie Vardy did what he does best for Leicester, by winning against Watford late on. The away team were without the services of Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial but started the game brightly thanks to a great volleyed goal from Memphis Depay in the opening ten minutes.

Troy Deeney got Watford back on track with a penalty late in the second half but the Watford player scored once again but at the wrong end as he gifted Manchester United a 2-1 win. While United again didn’t play the most attractive football, they did get the job done, once again. Louis van Gaal might not be the most popular coach for United fans but he could lead them to an unlikely title victory if they keep playing like this.

Watford were pretty good and deserved something from the game but will hope for better results in their next showing. With United looking ahead to a crucial Champions League fixture soon, we provide the five talking points from the game.

Depay shows his class

Louis van Gaal had dropped the big money signing from Holland due to a number of lacklustre performances but he was brought back into the team after the unavailability of Rooney and Martial and he got the ball rolling for Manchester United by scoring the first goal. Depay was played as the central striker in this game and although he wasn’t the most dangerous player during the game, he did get the job done.

De Gea does it again

We did state earlier that the best signing that United made this season would have been keeping David de Gea, the Spanish goalkeeper was at his best at Vicarage Road. De Gea made three great saves to keep United in the game and helped them to another great three points. The goalkeeper could be United’s secret weapon this season also.

United’s defence finally gets beaten

Manchester United had the best defence in the league and the Troy Deeney penalty was the first goal they conceded in six games. When Van Gaal replaced Herrera and brought on Rojo, United went to a back three despite playing Ashley Young as a defender for most of the game. Watford were good value in the second half but the United defence was strong throughout the game and this could well be the reason why United can win some silverware, their defence.

Watford should stay up if they play like this

Quique Sanchez Flores was brought into the club to keep them up and they are the best-placed club from the promoted teams. Watford might not score too many goals but they don’t concede too many either. The second half showed that they can turn up the style if they need to and although they didn’t get anything from the game today; it still should give them enough to keep them in the league as long as they play like this.

Can United win the league?

Manchester United are there or there about and no matter what people say about their style of play, they are getting the results. United weren’t the best in the second half when Watford piled on the pressure but their defence just about held on until the penalty was awarded. Manchester United were known for their late goals and at least that was there to save them this time around. With a few easy fixtures coming up, United could well find themselves on top of the league and heading towards another Premier League crown.