EPL:Hornets Humiliate Manchester United
It was a day to forget for Manchester United when they travelled to Vicarage Road to take on Watford on Matchday 12 of the premier league as they were mercilessly battered by the Hornets 4 goals to 1. Indeed, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the aftermath of the match saw his departure from the club after almost three years in charge. The Reds were condemned to their second successive loss in the league by goals from Josh King, Ismaila Sarr, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure, getting a consolation from the boots of rarely used Donny van de Beek. Both Claudio Ranieri and Ole Solskjaer made three changes to their teams from their last outings before the international break, where they both lost to Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. It was an early onslaught by the hosts, who won a penalty as early as the 6th minute, when Bruno Fernandes scuffed a clearance that rose high in the box, which led Scot McTominay to tripping Josh King in the process. The referee tried to play the advantage, but quickly pointed to the spot after Sarr kicked the ball out. Sarr stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, which was saved by David de Gea, but Kiko Femenia was first to react and put it beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. VAR cut short Watford's celebration as it reviewed and showed that both Femenia and Manchester United defenders encroached the penalty area before Sarr took the kick. The 23-year old Senegalese was gifted another lifeline to redeem himself. Sadly, he missed the retake and this time, neither he nor his teammates where able to score on the rebound. United needed to respond to the early pressure and sure did in the 13th minute when Marcus Rashford broke away on the counter, before feeding Cristiano Ronaldo on the left side of attack. The Portuguese forward cuts into the box and goes for goal from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked by Craig Cathcart. 10 minutes later, Harry Maguire would need to make double saves to keep the match balanced. First, he blocked off Sarr's cross into the box for a corner, before doing well to deny King the opening goal from the resulting corner as the Watford striker took a first fine touch to beat Aaron Wan Bissaka and hit the target. There was no way out for United in the 28th minute as they were hunted by their own undoing. Wan Bissaka's poorly cleared ball fell to Emmanuel Dennis on the right side, who cuts the ball back into the box for King to sidestep into the post as the Hornets took the lead. The visitors were almost level four minutes later. After a good spell of possession, Fernandes lofts a ball over the Watford defence, finding Rashford, whose one-time volley bounced in front of Ben Foster as the goalkeeper could only punch away. Ranieri's men grew in confidence after their first goal and went in search of another. In the 40th minute, they almost were rewarded as Emmanuel Dennis played out to Femenia on the left, who hit a cross into the box to be flicked on by King, but De Gea was wary of it and punched to safety. It was a moment of relief for Sarr with just a minute of the first half to play when he doubled Watford's lead. Again, another poor defending by the United defence gifted the ball to Femenia, who finds Sarr. The Senegalese had enough time to take a touch before hiring home a low shot. Van de Beek was a half time substitute replacing McTominay, along with Anthony Martial, who came on for Rashford. It was an inspired substitution as both players played their parts less than five minutes later to put United back in the game. Martial worked the ball well to Jadon Sancho, who sends a nice cross into the far post to Ronaldo and he guides his header back across goal were Van de Beek could head in from close range and reduce the deficit. Three minutes before the hour mark, the visitors almost levelled things up as Van de Beek set Ronaldo one-on-one with Foster, but the former Real Madrid star slipped while trying to take his shot to beat the on-rushing goalkeeper, who got enough touch to take the ball over the bar. Nemanja Matic also was presented with another opportunity to equal things as he tried to send Sancho through on goal. His pass was cut out, but Van de Beek won back the ball and set up the Serbian, who could only send his effort wide of goal. The afternoon was going from bad to worse for Solskjaer's men as Maguire received his second yellow card of the game. He spent to much time on the ball in a dangerous position, allowing Tom Cleverley charge him down and win the ball. The huge centre back went to ground, bring down the former United player and it was an inevitable yellow card offence that meant his race was run. Despite going a man down, Ronaldo missed two goalscoring chances at the other end. First, sending his effort into the side netting, before heading a cross across goal, but wide of the mark. The visitors must have felt on cloud 9 when they found the back of the net with about 12 minutes of duration to play. A cut back from Martial was almost going beyond an inspiring Van de Beek, who managed to slide it Ronaldo, who then turns William Troost-Ekong to score, but the offside flag would deny them any celebration. Just as United were looking to at least salvage a point in the additional minutes of the game, lightning struck twice as Watford got two additional goals. Emmanuel Dennis plays in Joao Pedro on the right side of the United box. Albeit from a tight angle, the Brazilian fired a low shot at the near post that snuck through the legs of De Gea to kill the potential of the visitors scrapping a point. While the United fans were still recovering from the shock of that third goal, Emmanuel Dennis finally got a goal of his own to further smear United's face. A long ball from the back by Foster bounced over Matic and towards Diogo Dalot, who was closed down by Cucho Hernandez. While Hernandez was trying to fend off the challenge from Dalot and hit a volley, Dennis stole the ball from his leg and into an acute angle on the right. The Nigerian international hammered a low strike into the far bottom post to get a deserved goal to cap an excellent outing for him. Concluding Thoughts Claudio Ranieri wouldn't have chosen a better outing to record his first home win in charge of the Hornets, after losing his first home game by a lone goal to Southampton. While it marked the joint biggest win by goal margin in Ranieri's brief Watford career, it was the first time in the history of Watford that they have recorded successive home victories in the league over Manchester United. United arguably have the worst defensive record in the league alongside relegation-threatened duo of Norwich City and Newcastle United, having conceded 21 goals already with a goal difference of -1. It was almost certain that it was the job that would cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his after his future came under more heat following the abysmal display in the Manchester derby.
EPL:Hornets Humiliate Manchester United
It was a day to forget for Manchester United when they travelled to Vicarage Road to take on Watford on Matchday 12 of the premier league as they were mercilessly battered by the Hornets 4 goals to 1. Indeed, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the aftermath of the match saw his departure from the club after almost three years in charge. The Reds were condemned to their second successive loss in the league by goals from Josh King, Ismaila Sarr, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure, getting a consolation from the boots of rarely used Donny van de Beek. Both Claudio Ranieri and Ole Solskjaer made three changes to their teams from their last outings before the international break, where they both lost to Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. It was an early onslaught by the hosts, who won a penalty as early as the 6th minute, when Bruno Fernandes scuffed a clearance that rose high in the box, which led Scot McTominay to tripping Josh King in the process. The referee tried to play the advantage, but quickly pointed to the spot after Sarr kicked the ball out. Sarr stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, which was saved by David de Gea, but Kiko Femenia was first to react and put it beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. VAR cut short Watford's celebration as it reviewed and showed that both Femenia and Manchester United defenders encroached the penalty area before Sarr took the kick. The 23-year old Senegalese was gifted another lifeline to redeem himself. Sadly, he missed the retake and this time, neither he nor his teammates where able to score on the rebound. United needed to respond to the early pressure and sure did in the 13th minute when Marcus Rashford broke away on the counter, before feeding Cristiano Ronaldo on the left side of attack. The Portuguese forward cuts into the box and goes for goal from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked by Craig Cathcart. 10 minutes later, Harry Maguire would need to make double saves to keep the match balanced. First, he blocked off Sarr's cross into the box for a corner, before doing well to deny King the opening goal from the resulting corner as the Watford striker took a first fine touch to beat Aaron Wan Bissaka and hit the target. There was no way out for United in the 28th minute as they were hunted by their own undoing. Wan Bissaka's poorly cleared ball fell to Emmanuel Dennis on the right side, who cuts the ball back into the box for King to sidestep into the post as the Hornets took the lead. The visitors were almost level four minutes later. After a good spell of possession, Fernandes lofts a ball over the Watford defence, finding Rashford, whose one-time volley bounced in front of Ben Foster as the goalkeeper could only punch away. Ranieri's men grew in confidence after their first goal and went in search of another. In the 40th minute, they almost were rewarded as Emmanuel Dennis played out to Femenia on the left, who hit a cross into the box to be flicked on by King, but De Gea was wary of it and punched to safety. It was a moment of relief for Sarr with just a minute of the first half to play when he doubled Watford's lead. Again, another poor defending by the United defence gifted the ball to Femenia, who finds Sarr. The Senegalese had enough time to take a touch before hiring home a low shot. Van de Beek was a half time substitute replacing McTominay, along with Anthony Martial, who came on for Rashford. It was an inspired substitution as both players played their parts less than five minutes later to put United back in the game. Martial worked the ball well to Jadon Sancho, who sends a nice cross into the far post to Ronaldo and he guides his header back across goal were Van de Beek could head in from close range and reduce the deficit. Three minutes before the hour mark, the visitors almost levelled things up as Van de Beek set Ronaldo one-on-one with Foster, but the former Real Madrid star slipped while trying to take his shot to beat the on-rushing goalkeeper, who got enough touch to take the ball over the bar. Nemanja Matic also was presented with another opportunity to equal things as he tried to send Sancho through on goal. His pass was cut out, but Van de Beek won back the ball and set up the Serbian, who could only send his effort wide of goal. The afternoon was going from bad to worse for Solskjaer's men as Maguire received his second yellow card of the game. He spent to much time on the ball in a dangerous position, allowing Tom Cleverley charge him down and win the ball. The huge centre back went to ground, bring down the former United player and it was an inevitable yellow card offence that meant his race was run. Despite going a man down, Ronaldo missed two goalscoring chances at the other end. First, sending his effort into the side netting, before heading a cross across goal, but wide of the mark. The visitors must have felt on cloud 9 when they found the back of the net with about 12 minutes of duration to play. A cut back from Martial was almost going beyond an inspiring Van de Beek, who managed to slide it Ronaldo, who then turns William Troost-Ekong to score, but the offside flag would deny them any celebration. Just as United were looking to at least salvage a point in the additional minutes of the game, lightning struck twice as Watford got two additional goals. Emmanuel Dennis plays in Joao Pedro on the right side of the United box. Albeit from a tight angle, the Brazilian fired a low shot at the near post that snuck through the legs of De Gea to kill the potential of the visitors scrapping a point. While the United fans were still recovering from the shock of that third goal, Emmanuel Dennis finally got a goal of his own to further smear United's face. A long ball from the back by Foster bounced over Matic and towards Diogo Dalot, who was closed down by Cucho Hernandez. While Hernandez was trying to fend off the challenge from Dalot and hit a volley, Dennis stole the ball from his leg and into an acute angle on the right. The Nigerian international hammered a low strike into the far bottom post to get a deserved goal to cap an excellent outing for him. Concluding Thoughts Claudio Ranieri wouldn't have chosen a better outing to record his first home win in charge of the Hornets, after losing his first home game by a lone goal to Southampton. While it marked the joint biggest win by goal margin in Ranieri's brief Watford career, it was the first time in the history of Watford that they have recorded successive home victories in the league over Manchester United. United arguably have the worst defensive record in the league alongside relegation-threatened duo of Norwich City and Newcastle United, having conceded 21 goals already with a goal difference of -1. It was almost certain that it was the job that would cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his after his future came under more heat following the abysmal display in the Manchester derby.
EPL:Hornets Humiliate Manchester United
It was a day to forget for Manchester United when they travelled to Vicarage Road to take on Watford on Matchday 12 of the premier league as they were mercilessly battered by the Hornets 4 goals to 1. Indeed, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the aftermath of the match saw his departure from the club after almost three years in charge. The Reds were condemned to their second successive loss in the league by goals from Josh King, Ismaila Sarr, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure, getting a consolation from the boots of rarely used Donny van de Beek. Both Claudio Ranieri and Ole Solskjaer made three changes to their teams from their last outings before the international break, where they both lost to Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. It was an early onslaught by the hosts, who won a penalty as early as the 6th minute, when Bruno Fernandes scuffed a clearance that rose high in the box, which led Scot McTominay to tripping Josh King in the process. The referee tried to play the advantage, but quickly pointed to the spot after Sarr kicked the ball out. Sarr stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, which was saved by David de Gea, but Kiko Femenia was first to react and put it beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. VAR cut short Watford's celebration as it reviewed and showed that both Femenia and Manchester United defenders encroached the penalty area before Sarr took the kick. The 23-year old Senegalese was gifted another lifeline to redeem himself. Sadly, he missed the retake and this time, neither he nor his teammates where able to score on the rebound. United needed to respond to the early pressure and sure did in the 13th minute when Marcus Rashford broke away on the counter, before feeding Cristiano Ronaldo on the left side of attack. The Portuguese forward cuts into the box and goes for goal from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked by Craig Cathcart. 10 minutes later, Harry Maguire would need to make double saves to keep the match balanced. First, he blocked off Sarr's cross into the box for a corner, before doing well to deny King the opening goal from the resulting corner as the Watford striker took a first fine touch to beat Aaron Wan Bissaka and hit the target. There was no way out for United in the 28th minute as they were hunted by their own undoing. Wan Bissaka's poorly cleared ball fell to Emmanuel Dennis on the right side, who cuts the ball back into the box for King to sidestep into the post as the Hornets took the lead. The visitors were almost level four minutes later. After a good spell of possession, Fernandes lofts a ball over the Watford defence, finding Rashford, whose one-time volley bounced in front of Ben Foster as the goalkeeper could only punch away. Ranieri's men grew in confidence after their first goal and went in search of another. In the 40th minute, they almost were rewarded as Emmanuel Dennis played out to Femenia on the left, who hit a cross into the box to be flicked on by King, but De Gea was wary of it and punched to safety. It was a moment of relief for Sarr with just a minute of the first half to play when he doubled Watford's lead. Again, another poor defending by the United defence gifted the ball to Femenia, who finds Sarr. The Senegalese had enough time to take a touch before hiring home a low shot. Van de Beek was a half time substitute replacing McTominay, along with Anthony Martial, who came on for Rashford. It was an inspired substitution as both players played their parts less than five minutes later to put United back in the game. Martial worked the ball well to Jadon Sancho, who sends a nice cross into the far post to Ronaldo and he guides his header back across goal were Van de Beek could head in from close range and reduce the deficit. Three minutes before the hour mark, the visitors almost levelled things up as Van de Beek set Ronaldo one-on-one with Foster, but the former Real Madrid star slipped while trying to take his shot to beat the on-rushing goalkeeper, who got enough touch to take the ball over the bar. Nemanja Matic also was presented with another opportunity to equal things as he tried to send Sancho through on goal. His pass was cut out, but Van de Beek won back the ball and set up the Serbian, who could only send his effort wide of goal. The afternoon was going from bad to worse for Solskjaer's men as Maguire received his second yellow card of the game. He spent to much time on the ball in a dangerous position, allowing Tom Cleverley charge him down and win the ball. The huge centre back went to ground, bring down the former United player and it was an inevitable yellow card offence that meant his race was run. Despite going a man down, Ronaldo missed two goalscoring chances at the other end. First, sending his effort into the side netting, before heading a cross across goal, but wide of the mark. The visitors must have felt on cloud 9 when they found the back of the net with about 12 minutes of duration to play. A cut back from Martial was almost going beyond an inspiring Van de Beek, who managed to slide it Ronaldo, who then turns William Troost-Ekong to score, but the offside flag would deny them any celebration. Just as United were looking to at least salvage a point in the additional minutes of the game, lightning struck twice as Watford got two additional goals. Emmanuel Dennis plays in Joao Pedro on the right side of the United box. Albeit from a tight angle, the Brazilian fired a low shot at the near post that snuck through the legs of De Gea to kill the potential of the visitors scrapping a point. While the United fans were still recovering from the shock of that third goal, Emmanuel Dennis finally got a goal of his own to further smear United's face. A long ball from the back by Foster bounced over Matic and towards Diogo Dalot, who was closed down by Cucho Hernandez. While Hernandez was trying to fend off the challenge from Dalot and hit a volley, Dennis stole the ball from his leg and into an acute angle on the right. The Nigerian international hammered a low strike into the far bottom post to get a deserved goal to cap an excellent outing for him. Concluding Thoughts Claudio Ranieri wouldn't have chosen a better outing to record his first home win in charge of the Hornets, after losing his first home game by a lone goal to Southampton. While it marked the joint biggest win by goal margin in Ranieri's brief Watford career, it was the first time in the history of Watford that they have recorded successive home victories in the league over Manchester United. United arguably have the worst defensive record in the league alongside relegation-threatened duo of Norwich City and Newcastle United, having conceded 21 goals already with a goal difference of -1. It was almost certain that it was the job that would cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his after his future came under more heat following the abysmal display in the Manchester derby.
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