Manchester United secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Watford, in what was Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s first game in charge after signing a three-year contract with the club.
Here are the three key talking points we noticed from their win over the Hornets this evening.
Not the ideal start for Solskjaer
As mentioned earlier, this was Solskjaer’s first game in charge of Manchester United as the permanent head coach for the club. And while the fans showed immense support, notably unfurling a huge banner to welcome their new boss, United’s performance was definitely not as convincing as the Norwegian would have hoped for.
The Red Devils lacked the bite in attack and looked overwhelmed by the attack-minded midfielders of Watford. Also, they also struggled to deal with the physical nature of this cagey encounter, which could be a worrying sign for Solskjaer as he hopes for a top-four finish this season.
That being said, the atmosphere was excellent despite the somewhat lucky win, and it will be interesting to see how the squad fares in the coming matches.
Should Rashford be United’s main man next season?
After missing out on international duty last week, Marcus Rashford made his return to the pitch with a blistering performance against Watford.
Indeed, the English international looked fresh and was willing to work hard and find spaces for himself, which was crucial given how the rest of the attackers struggled against a rigid Watford defence.
Rashford’s well-taken goal in the first half lifted a lot of pressure from the players and the coach alike, but it was his clever movements and willingness to take on defenders that were eye-catching.
And considering his performance under Solskjaer so far this season, it’s probably fair to say that the young forward could be United’s main man in attack next season.
Watford once again unlucky
While United did well to put away two scoring opportunities, the brave Watford were extremely lucky not to claim at least a point at Old Trafford this evening.
The Hornets controlled proceedings for large periods of the game and their approach play was remarkable. Also, Javi Gracia’s men were also quite resilient in defence and the pressure exerted by the midfielders to nullify the likes of Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and even Paul Pogba played a key role behind their excellent performance.
But, at the end of the day, they were denied by David de Gea on a few occasions, and it was just not their day from an attacking point of view. They will, however, be extremely happy with the performance as they focus on their upcoming matches.