ROONEY
When Wayne Rooney was
afforded time and space to send over a cross, early in the second half, but
ballooned his effort into the Vicarage Road stand, it was clear that Manchester
United’s skipper is not currently fit for purpose.
It was the latest in a string of basic errors from Rooney,
who had found touch with a straightforward pass in the first half and was
caught dithering when robbed by Watford sub Nordin Amrabat just earlier.
Rooney is no longer special, that much has been apparent for
the past year.
The more pertinent question for Manchester United is whether
there is anything special about Jose Mourinho any more?
Since securing the title with Chelsea in May 2015, the
Portuguese has suffered defeat in 15 out of 33 matches, an utterly damning
statistic for a manager in charge of two high-end clubs, stocked with some of
the world’s most accomplished footballers.
Manchester United have lost three successive games in eight
days and, whatever Mourinho mutters about refereeing decisions, they deserved
to lose all three.
Watford may have sealed their success with goals from Juan
Camilo Zuniga and Troy Deeney in the final seven minutes - but they had been as
dominant in the first half as Manchester City had been in last week’s derby.
Walter Mazzarri’s side had squandered three excellent
chances before Etienne Capoue continued his extraordinary early-season scoring
form by netting the opener, after Anthony Martial had been caught in
possession.
Mourinho was unsure whether Martial had then been replaced
because of an ankle or a head injury – but did not seem impressed by the
Frenchman’s inability to continue.
He had recently been treated after a knock on the head but
after he was crucially dispossessed by Miguel Britos, Martial seemed to go off
through embarrassment.
The Portuguese was certainly unimpressed with Luke Shaw
failing to close down Nordin Amrabat in the build-up to Zuniga’s decisive
strike.
But while Mourinho talks about refereeing blunders, bad luck
and isolated individual errors, United have been found badly wanting in three
matches this week.
During the first half here, they failed to match Watford’s
tempo or desire. For long periods, this was as flat as anything served up under
Louis Van Gaal.
United now face Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea in three of
their next four Premier League matches. And before that little lot, Mourinho
must consider whether to play a strong line-up in Wednesday’s League Cup visit
to Northampton Town, simply to end this run of defeats.
The Cobblers were the opposition when George Best produced a
bravura six-goal performance in an FA Cup tie in 1970. United do not look
capable of producing such champagne football just now.
Mazzarri was correct when he claimed Watford were simply
better than United.
Sebastian Prodl, outstanding at the back, headed wide when
he might have scored from a Jose Holebas free-kick, then David De Gea and Chris
Smalling went for the same high ball, offering a gift horse which Odion Ighalo
looked in the mouth, firing wide.
Then Troy Deeney applied a powerful, well-directed header to
Daryl Janmaat’s cross with a diving De Gea expertly clawing it away.
Out of nothing, Paul Pogba curled a 25-yarder against the bar
but when Britos robbed Martial – fairly in the view of most - and Janmaat cut
back for Capoue to ram home, Watford’s goal was overdue.
Capoue had scored once in three seasons as a Premier League
player - now he has four in five games under Mazzarri.
United improved after the break and Ibrahimovic engineered
their equaliser, playing a one-two with Marcus Rashford and crossing for the
England teenager, whose scuffed header bounced off Valon Behrami allowing him
to tuck the ball under Heurelho Gomes.
The Brazilian keeper was forced into one outstanding save
from an Ibrahimovic header but within a minute of Zuniga’s arrival, the
Colombian – on-loan from Napoli – thudded in from Roberto Pereyra’s cut-back,
with Mourinho fuming at Shaw’s laxity.
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