Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has praised the performance that Timothy Fosu-Mensah put in during his full debut for the club this evening.

Chris Smalling's failure to recover from a shoulder injury resulted in Van Gaal turning to the 18-year-old to play at the heart of the defence against Watford.

He responded by making a number of important challenges, while his speed across the ground also proved to be an asset in the 1-0 win.

"Timothy has saved us three times because of his speed so I am very pleased that he was on the pitch. He always closed the door for us," the United boss told reporters.

Fosu-Mensah joined the Red Devils from Ajax in 2014.