Ralf Rangnick will not face the same penalties as his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for failing to beat Watford, but it was nevertheless a setback for Manchester United’s Champions League hopes.
Before clipping the post, Ronaldo performed a fantastic first touch in the box. When Anthony Elanga set him up, Fernandes had just Ben Foster to beat. But his shot was blocked by Foster’s outstretched left arm.
The plan was to get crosses in from the left side. From that side, Fernandes set up Ronaldo, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Fernandes himself broke into the area, but from six yards out, he misjudged Paul Pogba’s pass.
Watford survived the early storm well enough to earn Hodgson’s approval and a thumbs up from the technical area. Another decent opportunity didn’t come until the 27th minute for United. Ronaldo was able to round Foster thanks to Craig Cathcart’s mistake. But because the angle was too tight, he dinked a cross towards the far post, where Fernandes headed over.
Ronaldo’s annoyance was evident seconds later when he was unable to capitalize on a Foster spill and frustratedly threw his arms around.
He was irritated in the second half when he was denied a penalty after a challenge from behind by Hassane Kamara. Ronaldo was chuckling at the injustice of it all by the 67th minute, when Christian Kabasele deflected the ball onto his leg and it rolled gently towards Foster.
Watford lived precariously, but they showed enough fight and effort to suggest that their desire to remain in the Premier League is not a pipe dream.
Craig Cathcart robbed Elanga with a brilliantly timed tackle, albeit the teenager also demanded a spot-kick. After 53 minutes, David de Gea saved Emmanuel Dennis’s first effort on goal, which could have given them a surprise lead. Rangnick went for broke after resting several of his regulars, and Elanga squandered a wonderful opening for United after Paul Pogba’s pass had put him free.
Jadon Sancho, who played for Watford between the ages of seven and 14, was the first player to be introduced, followed by Marcus Rashford, as United finished with an all-out attack, with Ronaldo and Rashford down the middle flanked by Sancho and Fernandes.
With Pogba as the lone holding midfielder, it was almost too frantic. Sancho placed a cross behind his two strikers who were too eager to run into the six-yard box. Ronaldo’s effort was blocked by Kamara, Fernandes was stopped by Samir, and then Sancho placed a cross behind his two strikers who were too eager to run into the six-yard box.