EPL: 10-Man United tames Watford

Manchester United recorded successive victories for the first time in the Premier League this season and ended Watford’s 100 per cent start with a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
A quickfire first-half double from Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling put the Red Devils on their way to three points which see them move level with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Andre Gray pulled one back for the previously-unbeaten Hornets midway through the second period, and Nemanja Matic saw a red card in stoppage time but it was too late to provoke a dramatic twist from Watford.
David de Gea was soon called into action at the other end, diving low to his left to gather a Will Hughes shot which was lacking power, and then pushing a Troy Deeney shot over the crossbar after Watford had gone direct to their captain.
Alexis Sanchez’s frustrations in a United shirt continued when he had a goal disallowed on 24 minutes. The Chilean chested down Pogba’s cross and finished emphatically on the volley only to be flagged for offside.
Watford failed to react to that warning shot as the Red Devils moved through the gears with two goals in the space of three minutes.
Fellaini was in the thick of both the goals, making a nuisance of himself in the box for Lukaku’s 35th minute opener.
Young recycled the ball and crossed for the Belgian to bundle the ball past Foster with his stomach.
Smalling’s finish moments later was far more stylish as he controlled Fellaini’s header on his chest before swivelling and volleying past Foster from eight yards out, the defender’s fourth goal in his last 12 league games.
The visitors should have been out of sight before half time but Pogba cushioned his back-post volley straight at Foster.
Watford came out fighting in the second half in the hope of trumping their comeback against Tottenham Hotspur from a fortnight ago, but their offence was a little one-dimensional and Deeney’s knockdowns were ultimately fruitless.
It took a slick passing move to break down United on 65 minutes as Abdoulaye Doucoure and Roberto Pereyra combined down the left flank to set up Gray for a thumping finish into the top corner from the penalty spot.