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UNITED: De Gea; Young, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mata, Rashford, Martial
WATFORD: foster; Janmaat, Kabasele, Britos, Masina; Hughes, Doucoure, Capua, Pereyra; Deeney, Deulofeu
The United team shows four changes compared to the one who started the defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break. Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Juan Mata and David de Gea enter, accompanied by the retirement of Sergio Romero, Jesse Lingard, Victor Lindelof and Diogo Dalot. Romelu Lukaku does the bench, as Andreas Pereira and Fred.
As for Watford, Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu will be the first two, while a solid midfielder includes Abdoulaye Doucoure and Roberto Pereyra. Craig Cathcart is however only on the bench against his former club, while Isaac Success and Andre Gray are also in reserve for visitors.
United launches things here …
… United's brilliant start as Mata strikes a great position before bringing a cross to Rashford, but there is no taker and Watford resumes possession of the ball here.
A win for United this afternoon would take them to fourth place, Chelsea only playing tomorrow, while Arsenal host Newcastle United on Monday night. Not much to report in these first moments, even if Pogba just lost a good crossing chance.
TO CLOSE! A decent chance for Watford since Doucoure is inside the penalty area, but his efforts are considerable. There is no doubt that the players outside have the players who hurt the premises here.
STROKE! Deeney hits from a distance, but his efforts have always increased over the crossbar.
Half chance for United this time, but Smalling manages to stand out.
SAVE! De Gea must regain Deeney's lead as Watford continues to threaten! The powerful striker is at the origin of problems of force inside the penalty area.
Some fear for De Gea because the cap remains in place after Deeney's backup, but he will be able to continue. Watford is really on top right now.
A little possession for United in the last minutes, but they have trouble getting something. Mata has taken a central position and is looking for space in the left channel, but Watford looks very compact as he continues to look after the house side here.
Young missed everyone with a cross and that sums up the beginning of United!
YELLOW CARD! Hughes (Watford) is booked for a poor challenge on Pogba.
Although United's best while Shaw broke into Watford's penalty area before looking to repel Rashford with a low center, Britos is about to make the clearance. Good job there.
SAVE! Excellent backup of De Gea against a powerful Pereyra shot!
Deeney enters a dangerous position again before delivering a center, but Jones is well placed to try a corner, which does not succeed. Still aimless at Old Trafford.
SAVE! Decent backup of De Gea against a shot of Deulofeu this time.
CALL OF PENALTY! Cry penalty for United while Martial falls into the box under a Britos challenge, but the referee is not interested. Better on the house side, though.
GOAL! MAN UNITED 1-0 WATFORD (RASHFORD)
Breakthrough! United takes the lead in the 28th minute as Rashford picks up a superb Shaw ball before taking his score to Foster. Super finish!
Watford may feel unhappy to be behind, but it's a great Shaw pass and a brilliant Rashford finish. Can the absent side answer before the interval here?
SAVE! Terrific saved Foster to avoid a Martial shot after Watford did not clear a corner. A second for United at this stage of the competition would be very difficult on the opposite side.
Deulofeu seems to have a problem with Watford after being hit at Jones. The central back of the United States seemed to fall on the Spaniard, who had a heart attack in the back and who did not look too pleased.
Deulofeu is fit to continue and Watford is back on the attack here.
There is not much in terms of net chances for visitors as they are late, but United needed De Gea to make some great saves to keep the score blank at first.
Deeney blocked another shot from Jones while Watford remains at the forefront. The local team has a lot of ball possession while United plays the counterattack. Rashford again passed a decisive pass, but Foster did well to force the Englishman out.
Deeney wins another free kick for his team after fighting with Smalling. A very interesting battle takes place between Watford's captain, Smalling and Jones.
Smarting gives the advantage to United's defenseman under pressure from Britos while Watford tries to force a leveler into the finals of the first period here.
We are at the first of three additional minutes at the end of the first period.
Mata does not manage to find Martial after being released inside the Watford box.
HALF-TIME: MAN UNITED 1-0 WATFORD
So there we have it. The referee completes the first period with United's 1-0 win over Watford thanks to a superb finish from Marcus Rashford. Watford actually had several scoring chances before the breakthrough came in, but found David de Gea in top form.
STATISTICS! United concealed possession in the first half with 56%, while he managed five attempts, two of which were framed. Watford actually had eight attempts in the first 45 minutes, with three of his goals. Just a reservation – Will Hughes in the 17th minute.
WATCH BENCH! There is no doubt that Gracia, the boss of Watford, has offensive quality on his bench this afternoon, with the likes of Kiko, Gray, Quina and Success all available. United, meanwhile, offers options in the form of Lingard, Lukaku, Fred, Pereira and Dalot.
START: Watford takes action here again …
… no change on both sides at the break, which is not really a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have changes in mind as the second period develops here.
SAVE! De Gea is about to prevent a long-range strike from Deulofeu.
Watford continues to sound threatening here as another long ball is delivered to Deeney, but Smalling is just doing enough to clear it. Nothing good about United.
Other than Rashford, United was not great this afternoon. Martial and Mata both struggled to contribute, while Pogba was also calm. It would not be a surprise to see Lukaku in the next 20 minutes, especially if he stays 1-0.
TO CLOSE! Janmaat misses United's goal with a shot from inside the box!
SAVE! De Gea must push the limits of the pole!
Watford remains the best team, but United still has the advantage thanks to the excellent Rashford result. Solskjaer can not be happy with what he's currently seeing.
WATFORD SUB! Kiko replaces Janmaat for the opposite side.
TO CLOSE! Pogba lost possession of the ball in his half of the field and Watford had another opportunity to score a goal, Hughes found his place in the penalty area, but his shot was still missing the post.
Jones pushes Deeney out of the ball into the penalty area as Watford's captain threatens to receive a falling ball. Just under 30 minutes of the second period remaining here.
MAN UNITED SUBS! Lingard and Pereira replace Mata and Herrera.
Just over 25 minutes of the second period remaining and United must really accelerate the pace, while Watford continues to enjoy the ball and creates opportunities.
Kiko stands out before delivering a dangerous center to the far post, but De Gea makes the request before releasing Young. The attack has again failed.
This is the Watford attack against United's defense at the moment.
Deulofeu gets a dangerous free kick in United, but Smalling manages to clear. The home team must surely release some pressure ?!
GOAL! MAN UNITED 2-0 WATFORD (MARTIAL)
United have their second! It's quite against the race, but Martial has the ball in the back of the net. Foster first denied the Frenchman, but Martial managed to get up before converting. It's very, very hard on the side of the road!
WATFORD SUB! Gray replaces Deulofeu for the opposite side.
Marcos Rojo is about to play for United. I have not seen it for a while!
MAN UNITED SUB! Rojo replaces Martial for the locals.
How Watford did not score this afternoon? Well, De Gea has been a huge reason. But the Hornets will be wondering how they are 2-0 behind having dominated for long periods.
Shaw was good for United this afternoon – probably the best in the red shirt. Once again, the Englishman stands out, but Hughes is back to take up the challenge.
STROKE! Comfort save Foster to avoid Lingard's strike.
WATFORD SUB! Success replaces Hughes for the outside.
YELLOW CARD! Masina (Watford) gets a card to shoot Rashford's shirt.
Just over five minutes from the second period remaining at Old Trafford.
There is not much going on right now as Watford passes the ball but does not really threaten to score. United is getting closer to three very important points.
Shaw is back on United after a treatment.
GOAL! MAN UNITED 2-1 WATFORD (DOUCOURE)
Now! Watford has a goal in the final stages while Doucoure plays a double at the edge of the United area before finding the back of the net with a very smart finish.
We are at the second of the three extra minutes and time is running out for Watford.
Watford has a free kick off the beaten track while Lingard takes it to Doucoure …
… Pereyra's effort is plunged into the box and United takes a free kick.
FULL TIME: MAN UNITED 2-1 WATFORD
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