Anthony Martial made the most of his rare chance in Manchester United's starting lineup by scoring one and setting up another in the 2-0 win over Watford this afternoon.
The Frenchman, who took Marcus Rashford's place in one of two changes, looked a threat throughout and fully justified manager Jose Mourinho's decision to hand him just a second league start of the year.
A landmark victory for United sees them become the first team to amass 2,000 Prem points, while at the same time lifting them up to fifth place in the table ahead of Liverpool's meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's scuffed shot two minutes in offered a sign of things to come in an action-packed first half, as the Red Devils created numerous openings but failed to truly make them count.
Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan found himself in space in good shooting positions on three occasions in the opening 45 minutes, but each time he was unable to get the better of Heurelho Gomes with rather tame attempts.
Watford enjoyed a bright spell of their own in the first half, seeing M'Baye Niang's shot-cross handled by David de Gea, before Mauro Zarate sent an eye-catching overhead kick right down the middle.
Jose Holebas was also allowed to drive an effort marginally wide of the far post from range, but United then truly kicked into top gear and created numerous clear-cut openings.
Martial twice went on a mazy run but could not add the end product, while Paul Pogba was denied by Gomes on two occasions as the hosts looked to prolong their unbeaten run here to 19 games here.
It was then Ibrahimovic's turn to squander a chance after bringing the ball down and driving over the bar on the spin, and Mkhitaryan fluffed his lines unmarked from seven yards out when spotted by Juan Mata.
The breakthrough goal that United deserved arrived 32 minutes in, however, as Mata swept home from Martial's left-sided cross just moments after Gomes pulled off his best save of the lot to frustrate Ibrahimovic from close range.
United did drop their levels a little prior to the interval, but Martial soon found his rhythm in the second period by bursting into the box and dragging a shot narrowly wide of the intended target.
The closest Watford came to a leveller was via Zarate's 30-yard free kick six minutes after the interval, but De Gea did well to get across and keep that attempt out.
The Red Devils doubled their advantage soon after, with Mkhitaryan winning back possession to kickstart a counter that ended with Martial picking his spot and getting the better of Gomes for his third of the season.
Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan continued their battle with Gomes in the remaining minutes, both being denied by the Brazilian, though Watford will perhaps feel that they deserved at least a consolation from the match.
Niang created one good opportunity for substitute Daryl Janmaat to sky at the back post, while Deeney did the hard work by holding off his man and getting in a shot but could not beat De Gea from 10 yards.
Neither side mustered any more chances in the remaining 15 minutes, as United held out to make it 16 games without defeat in the Premier League.
Daniel Lewis
