Stand-in captain Juan Mata stepped up with a wonderful free-kick seven minutes from time as Manchester United saw off Watford 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Louis van Gaal handed the Spaniard the armband in the absence of the injured Wayne Rooney, but United were fortunate to be level at the break.
After their morale-boosting 3-2 win over Arsenal at the weekend, earned by a brace from 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, Van Gaal’s injury-hit side were given a series of let-offs by Watford striker Odion Ighalo, who missed a host of chances.
United partnered the fit-again Anthony Martial with Rashford and, after the interval, asked questions of Watford before Mata stepped up from 20 yards with 83 minutes on the clock to settle the contest.
It was a moment for Manchester United’s young ones to stand back and admire the work of an old master.
So much has been made of the spirit of youth at Old Trafford recently; the sudden rise of Marcus Rashford and all those rookies blooded by Louis van Gaal.
But when it really mattered for a United team that started the match with an average age of just 23, it was the most senior man in their ranks who came up with the goods.
There were 83 minutes on the clock when Juan Mata stepped up to take a freekick 20 yards from goal.
The technique was perfect, the execution unerring as the 27-year-old Spaniard sent the ball spinning over the Watford wall
and beyond the despairing dive of Heurelho Gomes.
Old Trafford erupted. It certainly wasn’t a stylish victory, but that’s four wins in the space of 10 days in all
competitions.
Who knows what United’s first back-to-back Premier League successes since they won at Watford in November will do for their chances of finishing in the top-four on a night when Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham all lost?
Van Gaal’s side are level on points with City now, outside the Champions League places only on goal difference. They are only 10 points behind leaders Leicester for those who dare to dream.
‘We have to keep taking things step by step,’ said Van Gaal. ‘We are still in the fight for the top-four and also in the
next round of the FA Cup and Europa League, so I don’t think this is too bad.
‘Watford made it difficult for us and then the victory tastes very good, especially when your competitors have lost.
‘I think the youngsters give us a lot of spirit. You see the joy, all the players are laughing and it’s beautiful to see.’
The Dutchman revealed that he almost took Mata off before he scored the winner.
‘That was true because he was limping at that time,’ he added. ‘Then he scored the goal so I’m very happy that I let him stay on. It was a great goal from a great player.
‘The performance was not so good, no.’
As well as Tim Fosu-Mensah performed on his full debut in central defence against Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, Watford know they should have punished United’s defensive shortcomings.
Ighalo, in particular, was guilty of squandering a number of opportunities in the first half.
He went desperately close to an opening goal, controlling Deeney’s flick-on and spinning Marcos Rojo before drilling a shot the wrong side of David De Gea’s right-hand post.
Another opportunity presented itself to the Nigeria striker eight minutes before half-time following a mix-up between Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo on the touchline.
Ighalo stole possession and raced through on goal but Fosu-Mensah did enough to knock him out of his stride and De Gea did the rest.
United still did their best to gift the Watford man a goal, though, and De Gea had to come to their rescue again in the
42nd minute when Blind’s decision to let Guillermo Varela’s back-pass roll through to his goalkeeper let Ighalo in again.
The visitors’ main threat in the second half came from set-pieces and the head of Sebastian Prodl. He saw one header
cleared off the line by Rashford, and then somehow steered another wide from two yards out under pressure from substitute Matteo Darmian.
No wonder manager Quique Sanchez Flores was shaking his head at the final whistle.
‘This happens in English football,’ said the Watford boss. ‘We played well. We tried to get a good result, but a moment of quality decided the match.
‘It didn’t surprise me. I’ve known Mata since he was 14 when I was coaching the Under-19s at Valencia. We can’t do anything if Mata scores that kind of goal.’
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