The gaffer dropped to the bench Manchester City wonder kid, Kelechi Iheanacho, who started the first leg on Friday
Browsing: Odion Ighalo
It seemed for a long while that if either side was going to win the game, it would be Quique Sanchez Flores’s away side, but they were ultimately punished for their failure to convert numerous chances as United went on to benefit from the points that were dropped by those above them in the table
Ighalo, scorer of 14 Premier League goals this season, was largely marked out of the game when the two sides met at Vicarage Road in October, with Arsenal running out comfortable 3-0 winners
A number of big-name players have signed for Chinese clubs, with Jiangsu Suning paying Chelsea £25 million for Ramires and Shakhtar Donetsk £38.5 million for Alex Teixeira, while Guangzhou Evergrande landed Jackson Martinez for £32 million
Ighalo failed to properly connect with a header from Jose Holebas’s cross when well placed in the 25th minute of the tie
A bland tie in the East Midlands was settled by the in-form forward, who made the most of a rare piece of slack play from the hosts to fire his side into the next round of the competition late on
However, he insists they are not getting carried away and understands they must stick to their initial target of reaching 40 points before starting to consider anything else
Ighalo’s manager, Quique Flores, was also adjudged the EPL Manager of the Month
Mesut Ozil, Marko Arnautovic, Riyad Mahrez, Romelu Lukaku and Dele Alli join Ighalo in the player nominations
For the sixth Premier League game in a row, Ighalo found the net, stabbing low under Hugo Lloris after he had outmuscled Eric Dier in the area
It was the home side who made the brighter start to the match, dominating possession in the opening exchanges and fashioning the first chance of the game after just four minutes when Costa nodded over from close range
Teams that rise from the Championship usually struggle with the defensive side of the game in the Premier League, but Watford have only conceded 16 times this season, which is up there with the best records in the division
The Hornets missed two good chances to extend their lead as Pantilimon kept out an Almen Abdi effort, while Ighalo tried his luck in a difficult position, only for the former Manchester City man to deny the striker in the bottom corner
Ighalo has nine and Deeney five, to add to the 41 they accumulated together last term to help fire the Hornets up from the Championship
The Nigerian, a Vicarage Road fans’ favourite, made the game safe for Watford when he converted with a minute into added time, this time Deeney turning provider
Between them, Ighalo, who snubbed a lucrative move to China in the summer and signed a five-year deal, and Deeney have scored 14 of Watford’s 17 league goals this season
And Ighalo netted his ninth goal of the season in second-half stoppage time after combining well again with Deeney
That goalless draw at Villa Park saw new Coach, Remi Garde, take charge of his first game for the side in a move that seemed to excite followers of the Midlands outfit
Watford are yet to suffer back-to-back defeats in the league this season, but with so many more challenges to come, even victory today would not be enough to encourage any overconfidence from inside the club
Ighalo netted three times in October, twice in the win over West Ham United a fortnight ago, as well as grabbing the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth at the beginning of the month