Substitute Juan Camilo Zuniga made a decisive impact as Watford earned a 3-1 triumph against Manchester United at Vicarage Road.
The South American put the hosts 2-1 in front with seven minutes left with his first touch of the game and, in the closing seconds, earned a penalty after being felled by Marouane Fellaini – which was converted by Troy Deeney.
The Reds had battled back through Marcus Rashford’s leveller after falling behind to a controversial opener by Etienne Capoue in the first half but return north disappointed on a day when nothing seemed to go right.
Jose Mourinho made five changes to the side with Chris Smalling and Marcus Rashford selected for their first Premier League starts under the boss. Smalling managed to drift a header wide inside two minutes but the Hornets soon gained the upper hand. Deeney was close to reaching a Sebastian Prodl header across the six-yard box and, when miscommunication between David De Gea and Smalling granted Odion Ighalo the clearest of open goals, the striker, thankfully, screwed his finish wide of the gaping net.
Four minutes later, De Gea was back to his usual brilliant self, diving to push away Deeney’s header after the Hornets skipper beat Antonio Valencia to Daryl Janmaat’s cross. United responded with a neat move but Zlatan Ibrahimovic could only find the side-netting after he and Wayne Rooney were involved in the build-up to Rashford’s deflected centre.
