Manchester United beat Watford 2-1 in dramatic fashion, winning with a stoppage time goal after conceding the equalizer just minutes before.
Memphis opened the scoring for the Red Devils early on and the defense held stout for much of the match while the attack failed to improve on the advantage. In the closing stages of the match, Watford were awarded a questionable penalty after Marcos Rojo brought down Odion Ighalo. Troy Deeney stepped up and converted the chance, but the Reds were not to be outdone.
Minutes later, Jesse Lingard struck far post, where Bastian Schweinsteiger passed back across goal into the path of Deeney who put the ball into his own net. The response by Manchester United showed great character and resilience after having given up their advantage moments prior.
As such, manager van Gaal wasted no time after the match in praising his squad’s spirit. Speaking to MUTV after the match, the Dutchman conveyed his pride in the team effort:
"“I was amazed at the spirit in our team. We had the late penalty but as a team we created another three possibilities in five minutes after that. Before the goal from Schweiney, Chris Smalling had a fantastic shot at goal and Gomes saved it fantastically. When you can do that as a team then I am very proud of that team.”"
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The late goal proved decisive and granted Manchester United the three points, sending them temporarily to the top of the table with Arsenal, Leicester, and Manchester City playing later in the weekend. Going forward, the manner of the result could be representative of the beginning of a title push.
Commenting on United’s short term ascendancy to the top of the Premier League, van Gaal said:
"“Of course we are fighting for the first position in the Premier League. Okay we might only be top for one hour but we are there for the second time this season. Every week we are getting closer, but at the end [of the season] is the important time.”"
Thus far this season, Manchester United have fared well as a result of impressive defensive performances. However, even with injuries to Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney going into the match against Watford, the attacking unit looked more cohesive, particularly through Lingard and Memphis.
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The manager further heaped praise on the young attackers’ impacts on the match:
"“In the first half Memphis was superb, like Jesse Lingard. I think also this role for Memphis is the best one for him. He played it also in the World Cup for me when van Persie and Robben were injured so I knew he could do it. Jesse also was fantastic and we have created a lot of chances thanks to those two.”"
Despite winning the match away from home, van Gaal was disappointed with how his team maintained their hold on the match. His main criticism of the performance was the uncharacteristic mistakes whilst in possession of the ball, with numerous players making wayward passes and being dispossessed far too easily.
With regard to the attacking play throughout the match, the manager cited the conversion of scoring opportunities as a necessity going forward:
"“I think we didn’t play so good offensively. We created a lot of chances and we could have finished the game much earlier when you saw the chances that Jesse Lingard had. We didn’t play so well in ball possession, but we did play very well when the opposition had the ball. We didn’t give away many chances and also the penalty, but I expect better than today of our positional game.”"
Next: Lingard praised by United coach
However, aside from the lack of clinical finishing that has plagued United through much of the season, the team has shown signs of improvement in the attack. Louis van Gaal will undoubtedly be extremely pleased with his squad’s resilient performance.