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Manchester United
David De Gea – 8/10
De Gea kept Manchester United in the game as the hosts began turning the screws in the second half. He was Johnny-on-the-spot to save two ferocious drives from Troy Deeney but his best save of the night came when his lightning quick reflexes helped keep Abdi’s shot away from the goal.
Ashley Young – 7/10
Young began to make a bigger mark on the proceedings only after he was switched to wing-back. His movement and crosses from the right gave the hosts constant headaches. He lost the ball callously once in the first-half giving Watford possession in a dangerous area but, luckily for him, wasn’t punished.
Phil Jones – 7/10
The defender provided a great shift next to Chris Smalling, making his presence felt both in the air as well as on the ground.
Chris Smalling – 7.5/10
Smalling is slowly but surely building up his reputation as the one of the best, if not the best, centre-back in the league. Another strong performance from the England international helped thwart Ighalo for the majority of the game and he nearly pulled off a spectacular winner minutes before Deeney’s equalizer.
Daley Blind – 7/10
Blind started the game on the left side of a flat back four but was pushed into a wing-back role following Ander Herrera's withdrawal. He looked fluent in both roles with his dexterity in the short passing games catching the eye on more than once occasion.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 8/10
Schneiderlein is growing into the lynchpin in the middle of the park for Manchester United day by day. He was ever-present in the middle and a great block from an Ighalo effort embodied his importance to the side.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 8/10
The German midfielder served the final killer punch at the end of the game, although it will go down as an own goal. Ably supported Schneiderlin in the double pivot as he and the Frenchman helped United control the tempo for large portions of the game.
Juan Mata – 6.5/10
The Spaniard didn’t have the impact he usually has on proceedings for United. While there weren’t any glaring mistakes to be seen, he didn’t quite light it up either.
Ander Herrera – 7/10
His cross for the opener was money on the spot. However, not much more was seen from the Spaniard after he was taken off injured even before the game clock hit 30 minutes.
Jesse Lingard – 6.5/10
Another encouraging display from the youngster who was bursting with energy for all 90 minutes. However, he should have put the game beyond Watford when he tried in vain to lob Gomes after finding himself one-on-one.
Memphis Depay – 7.5/10
Depay played as the focal point of the attack with both Rooney and Martial unavailable. He opened the scoring with a delightful cushioned volley while his movement and link-up play was graceful, even though the final product at the times lacked any worthy praise.
Substitutes
Marcos Rojo – 6/10
Rojo replaced Herrera after he was injured in the first half and looked solid for most of the game. But his petulance gifted Watford a way back into the game with a needless challenge in the 87th minute.
Paddy McNair – 6.5/10
The youngster replaced Phil Jones with 20 minutes to go in the proceedings. A bit rash at times, but nothing too unbecoming from the Northern Irishman.
Andreas Pereira – N/A
He replaced Juan Mata for the final ten minutes of the game but couldn't really make a telling impact of any sorts.
