Watford – Man Utd: Attack meets weak defense

(Baonghean.vn) - After two disappointing matches, Lukaku and his teammates will have the opportunity to regain their confidence against Watford's underrated defense. This match will take place at Vicarage Road at 3am on November 29 (Hanoi time).

It took a lucky strike from Ashley Young for Man Utd to overcome the resilience of the new team Brighton. Manager Mourinho also had to admit: "I have to be honest and for me, Brighton deserved more than what the scoreboard showed. They played well, organised a tight defense and when they had the ball, they were very dangerous.

“To be honest, Brighton played well. Sometimes having too many attackers on the pitch means you are going for attacking football. We put too many attackers on the pitch and lost control in midfield.”

The 2017/2018 Premier League has passed more than 1/3 of the way but the “special one” still has to struggle with the team’s attack. Currently, Mourinho has all the best players in his hands after the return of midfielder Pogba and striker Ibrahimovic.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the "Red Devils" attack is among the best in the Premier League in terms of both quality and quantity. 28 goals after 13 matches is not a bad result but still cannot satisfy coach Mourinho and Man Utd fans, especially when compared to what rival Man City is doing (42 goals).

Ashley Young (middle) celebrates his goal against Brighton. Photo: Internet

In the last 2 matches against Basel and Brighton, Mourinho's players had a total of 33 shots (Basel 14, Brighton 19) but only 1 was converted into a goal. Even that only goal had to be assisted by an opposing defender (Ashley Young's shot hit Lewis Dunk and went into the net).

Such an achievement is indeed disappointing and worrying. An attack line with Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Ibrahimovic, Pogba... only brought back 1 lucky goal against 2 opponents not rated highly like Basel and Brighton, there is no excuse other than incompetence.

Now facing host Watford, a team that is playing quite well, the difficulty for Mourinho and his students is extremely great. Up to now, the team at Vicarage Road is ranked 8th with 21 points (6 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses). In the last 2 matches, Watford won all 6 points against West Ham (2-0) and Newcastle (3-0).

Not possessing a squad with many star players, the team nicknamed The Hornets has an extremely annoying playing style under the leadership of coach Marco Silva. Defeating them right at Vicarage Road is not an easy task.

Watford just had a resounding victory at Newcastle. Photo: Internet

However, Watford also has a fatal weakness in defense. Although flying high on the rankings, the team's defense is quite weak. The proof is that Watford is one of the teams that has conceded the most goals in the Premier League after 13 rounds (21 goals), only above Everton (28 goals), West Ham and Stoke City (26 goals), Crystal Palace (25 goals). This is a factor that coach Mourinho and his team can exploit and help Man Utd pay back the debt they owed in the first leg of last season (Watford won 3-1).

The thirsty attack of the "Red Devils" meets the fragile defense of Watford, which is a great opportunity for Lukaku and his teammates to shoot freely. The superior class and force will help Man Utd leave Vicarage Road with 3 points in hand./.

Thanh Hung