Watford earned a first-ever Premier League point at Old Trafford leading to a frustrating night for the “Red Devils” as they drop points at this crucial stage of the competition. A win against Watford could have given United an upper hand in finishing in the top 4 spot but it was wasted.
Meanwhile, Spurs’ 4-0 victory against Leeds, and Arsenal picking up three points against Wolves has given them a pivotal position in the top four-spot. Ragnick made some prominent changes in today’s game by dropping our captain Harry Maguire, giving Bruno the armband and playing Elanga in place of Jadon Sancho on the right-wing. Matic played alongside Fred as Mctominay missed due to an injury and Alex Telles taking Luke Shaw’s position in the left-back position.
MATCH PROCEEDINGS
Manchester United had 67% of the possession throughout the game and recorded 22 shots but couldn’t find a way to put that inside Watford’s net. Under Roy Hodgson, Watford has kept three clean sheets in their last six games.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post five minutes after the game started with his sweeping right-foot finish following a move fabricated by Matic and Elanga. In the 15th minute of the game, another Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort was deemed offside. There were loud appeals for a penalty in the 42nd minute when Elanga and Craig Cathcart clashed together. United played a more possession orientated football in today’s game rather than just defending.
Watford hardly had possession, but in the opening 45 minutes of the 2nd half saw the Hornets have a brilliant chance in front of goal but it went narrowly wide from the corner. There was another appeal for penalty in the 55th minute, when Ronaldo went down due to a challenge from Hassane Kamara. Kevin Friend (Referee) didn’t find any mistakes in the tackle and let it go, leading to a frustration amongst the United players and the fans.
Ben Foster has been brilliant in front of the goal saving some crucial shots. He’s the man responsible for helping Watford take that crucial point back home. Watford are currently in the 19th position with 19 points, three points from safety but have also played three matches more than Everton and Burnley who are currently battling to come out of the relegation zone.
Jadon Sancho almost curled a superb shot in the 90th minute but it just went slightly over the crossbar. Bruno Fernandes also made a brilliant effort from long distance which was comfortably held by Forster in the dying minutes of the game. In the very last minute of the game, Ismaila Sarr came very close to get the winner but his shot went just over the edge of the crossbar. Few seconds later, the referee blew the final whistle and the match ended in a stalemate.
Our Ratings for today’s game-
Ronaldo- 7/10
Elanga- 8/10
Bruno Fernandes- 7/10
Pogba- 7/10
Varane- 6/10
Lindelof- 5/10
Aaron Wan Bissake- 7/10
Telles- 6/10
Matic- 6/10
Fred- 7/10
De Gea- 4/10
United’s upcoming fixtures-
Manchester City- (A) 6th March,2022
Tottenham Hotspurs- (H) 12th March,2022
Liverpool- (A) 20th March,2022+
