Pascal Oparada
Nigerian singer, Adekunle Gold was seen at Watford Stadium when Man United lost 2-1.
Nigerians mocked the singer as he looked morose throughout the March which saw Manchester United fans renew calls for coach Ole to be sacked.
Manchester United fell to a disappointing Premier League defeat at Watford on Saturday afternoon, as the hosts scored twice in each half.
It was an afternoon to forget for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team as the Reds lost our first match following the international break. .
The encounter at Vicarage Road got off to a manic start with David De Gea saving not one but two Ismaila Sarr penalties as the Senegalese’s first attempt had to be retaken. However, first-half goals from Joshua King and Ismaila Sarr ensured Claudio Ranieri’s side still went into the break two goals up.
Donny van de Beek joined Anthony Martial in coming off the bench at the start of the second half and the Dutchman restored hope for the Reds by scoring swiftly, in the 50th minute. A turnaround seemed possible but when Harry Maguire was sent off for collecting two yellow cards, it made United’s comeback task more difficult.
In stoppage time, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis put the game to bed as the Hornets ran out 4-1 winners under the floodlights.
The Reds started the game brightly with Nemanja Matic trying to play Jadon Sancho in behind the hosts’ defence with some clever passes, but unfortunately the Serbian midfielder couldn’t quite find our tricky winger in the opening moments.
In the fourth minute, a mishit clearance from Bruno Fernandes started a series of bizarre events. The loose ball ended up in the feet of ex-Reds striker Joshua King, who was dragged down inside the box for a Watford penalty. Ismaila Sarr stepped up to take it but just as he did at West Ham back in September, David De Gea pulled off a strong save to prevent the home side scoring from the spot.
However, Kiko Feminia reacted quickest to the rebound and seemingly put the hosts ahead when he smashed it in. However, a VAR consultation found Feminia and a United player were both inside the box at the point Sarr kicked the ball from the spot, leading referee Jon Moss to order a retake. Same taker, same place, same outcome. De Gea produced another majestic save to keep the scores at 0-0.
The Reds’ first chance of the match came on a counter-attack as Cristiano Ronaldo ran down the left before a shot from our no.7 was blocked for a corner which unfortunately resulted in nothing.
In what was an end-to-end half with plenty of hefty duels, both teams created dangerous moments. Harry Maguire put in several impressive blocks to deny Sarr on the wing before getting in the way of a big King chance from six yards, preventing the former United man from scoring.
Unfortunately, the Norwegian forward did find the back of the net in the 27th minute. Watford’s no.7 tapped home from close range following a run from Emmanuel Dennis on the left. 1-0 to the Hornets.
United wanted to bounce back immediately and Marcus Rashford got close to an equaliser shortly after King’s opener. Following a clever ball in behind, our no.10 volleyed towards goal but former Reds keeper Ben Foster reacted well to save the 24-year-old’s effort. Rashford tested Watford’s no.1 again moments later with a low driven strike towards the far corner but once again Foster thwarted him.
In the 36th minute, King ventured beyond United’s backline but his fellow Scandinavian, Sweden captain Victor Lindelof, came in with a brilliant tackle to take the ball off the striker’s toe. Watford’s no.7 had another chance shortly after but, unmarked, he headed straight at De Gea from inside the United box.
Just before the interval, Sarr eventually found a way past the Reds’ no.1 as he hammered in Watford’s second goal, meaning the Hornets went into half-time with a comfortable advantage.
