Manchester United’s top-four bid falters with Watford draw

Manchester United’s bid for a top-four Premier League finish suffered a setback as they were held to a 0-0 draw by relegation-threatened Watford at Old Trafford.

United bossed possession but were left ruing missed chances after a frustrating outing that included Cristiano Ronaldo hitting a post and Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba passing up opportunities, plus some good work from Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster and his team-mates.

Ralf Rangnick’s fourth-placed side are now two points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal having played three games more.

Second-bottom Watford, who memorably beat United 4-1 in the reverse fixture in November that proved to be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s last match in charge of the Red Devils, are three points from safety.

They have picked up five points from six games following Roy Hodgson’s appointment as successor to Claudio Ranieri earlier this month, including their first win since that 4-1 game.

Just prior to kick-off, the teams gathered together to hold up a sign displaying the word ‘Peace’, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while a Ukraine flag could be seen in the crowd.

After the contest got under way, Ronaldo was inches away from giving United an early lead when he sent a fifth-minute strike against a post.

United kept up the pressure, with Fernandes having one shot blocked and another well saved by Foster when he might have passed to Ronaldo, who put the ball in the net shortly afterwards, only to see the flag up for offside.

Fernandes then failed to make the most of further opportunities as he diverted Pogba’s delivery wide on the stretch – beating the ground afterwards in frustration – and headed over after Ronaldo had gone around Foster and crossed to his fellow Portuguese.

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