Dennis stars as Ruthless Watford hammer Manchester United
Maguire sees red as Red Devils are stung by the Hornets
Watford recorded a memorable 4-1 victory over under-pressure Manchester United at Vicarage Road to ease their relegation fears and pile more pressure on the Red Devils in their English Premier League clash.
Watford came into the game on the back of consecutive one-nil losses to Arsenal and Southampton before the international break. Manchester United were also struggling and lost 2-0 to Manchester City before the international break.
Watford missed a golden chance to open the scoring in the opening minutes as Ismaila Sarr saw his penalty saved by David De Gea only for Kiko Femenia to score the rebound, but the goal was ruled out for encroachment. Sarr’s retaken penalty was saved again by De Gea to keep the scores level.
Former Manchester United trainee Joshua King opened the scoring for Watford in the 28th minute. Nigerian star Emmanuel Dennis drove the ball to the byline before releasing a cutback to King, who sidefooted past De Gea to make it 1-0.
With halftime approaching, Watford doubled their advantage through Sarr. The exciting Senegalese winger finished a cutback from Femenia in the 44th minute to double the Hornets’ advantage.
Manchester United pulled one back through fringe Dutch midfielder Donny Van De Beek five minutes after his half-time introduction. Jadon Sancho put a cross into the Watford box and Cristiano Ronaldo cushioned a header back for Van De Beek to score a flying header in the 50th minute.
Manchester United were reduced to ten men in the 69th minute as captain Harry Maguire received two yellow cards in quick succession, the second coming for a needless challenge on ex-Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley.
With the game petering out, Watford suddenly found themselves 3-1 up as Brazilian youngster Joao Pedro finished off another Emmanuel Dennis assist from a tight angle through De Gea’s legs in the second minute of added time.
Dennis turned from provider to goalscorer as he added his name to the scoresheet in the fourth minute of added time. A simple route one ball from Ben Foster was allowed to bounce by Diogo Dalot, allowing Dennis to run through and find the far corner from a tight angle.
Manchester United are now in seventh place on 17 points, only four points ahead of 16th place Watford on the Premier League table. The Red Devils will face leaders Chelsea in the league next.
