Large sections of Manchester United’s supporters have taken to Twitter this evening to single a surprise pair of players, in the form of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, out for praise.
Man United 2-1 Watford
The Red Devils welcomed Watford to Old Trafford a short time ago, in the respective sides’ first outing following the international break.
United headed into proceedings aware that a victory would see them reclaim their spot in the Premier League’s top-4, with Arsenal’s superb recent run of form having seen the Gunners leapfrog Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.
Since securing their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a stunning 2nd-leg turnaround versus PSG at the beginning of the month, though, the Manchester giants had since fallen to consecutive defeats at the hands of Arsenal and Wolves.
But, when all was said and done at Old Trafford this afternoon, United got their season back on track, courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Marcus Rashford opened the game’s scoring shortly before the half-hour mark, latching onto a pinpoint Luke Shaw through-ball to dink a superb finish over the advancing Ben Foster.
And, despite Watford having largely-dominated, particularly during the second-half, the home side went on to bag a 2nd twenty minutes from time, when Anthony Martial managed to slot home following a scrappy sequence in the Watford box.
Abdoulaye Doucoure did manage to pull one back for the visitors in the 90th-minute, but it eventually proved little more than a consolation, as United emerged with all 3 points.
‘Credit where it’s due’
As outlined above, however, though the Red Devils picked up a victory this afternoon, their performance actually left a lot to be desired.
The likes of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera put in disappointing displays, with Watford having had their hosts under the cosh for lengthy stretches.
However, two of the home side’s stars to have stood tall were oft-maligned central defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
The English stoppers both performed admirably at the heart of their side’s backline, standing firm amid countless crosses towards powerhouse Troy Deeney in the United box.
And large sections of the Red Devils’ faithful have since taken to social media to make clear their appreciation for the respective showings of Jones and Smalling, with some of the highlights showcased below:
Jones and Smalling been immense today Shaw and Young also been solid
— ™️ (@AAMUFC94) March 30, 2019
Jones and Smalling have been so good
— Kreg 🇧🇧🇾🇪 (@Tactiawareness) March 30, 2019
Phillip Anthony Jones And Christopher Lloyd Smalling.
FairPlay lads, credit where it’s due 🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/eCFqcE8mzv— Connor Price 🇾🇪🏴 (@CnnrPrice) March 30, 2019
smalling and jones fuck me been absolutely fantastic today! #mufc
— lindelöf (@1indelof) March 30, 2019
Not often I say this but Jones and Smalling have been colossal at the back
— Dipak (@dipaksiyani) March 30, 2019
Only positive today is Phil Jones and smalling
— Andrew Williams (@26Pandy) March 30, 2019
Watford have played really well, but Smalling and jones have been immense and that has to be said
— MkNulty (@MK4796) March 30, 2019
We have played 60 minutes without a midfield so far today. Abysmal performance from all 3 of them. Never thought I’d say it but so thankful to Smalling and Jones for this lead 😂 #United
— corey (@CoreyClift_) March 30, 2019
Midfield poor ,players looks not interested to play , Fair play to phil jones and chris smalling turning up .
— lmaorai (@Pawnstarrrr) March 30, 2019
Not a big fan of them but Chris smalling and phill Jones have played great today 👏
— lee o sullivan (@leeosullivan13) March 30, 2019
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