The Hornets stung the Villains in fine style in their first match after a one-year absence from the Premier League. Even with Aston Villa entering the match as heavy favorites, Watford walked away with a deserved three points thanks to goals from Emmanuel Dennis, Ismaila Sarr, and Cucho Hernandez. Goals from John McGinn and Danny Ings only proved to be consolations. Even after one match, there are plenty of positives for Watford fans to take from the match to hold onto for the rest of the season.
Plenty of Positives for Watford After Beating Aston Villa
The Squad Should Have Sufficient Goal-Scoring Talent
With Sarr being the only player to have scored double-digit goals for Watford last season, there were questions as to where goals would come from for the Hornets in the leap to the top-flight. Dennis joined for a cut-rate fee from Club Brugges, while 22-year-old Hernandez finally made his Vicarage Road debut following many seasons on loan to Spanish sides.
Dennis calmly slotted away the Hornets’ first goal before setting up Sarr for the team’s second. He continued to wreak havoc on the Aston Villa backline through the entirety of his time on the pitch, with his pace proving to be a dangerous asset. Cucho Hernandez scored a curling wonder goal (which proved to be the match-winner) the minute after he stepped onto the pitch. Both will likely continue to play huge roles for the Hornets as the season progresses.
Sarr took no time readjusting back to Premier League football as expected. Furthermore, the Hornets were still without Joshua King and Joao Pedro, both players who have the capability to inject even more goals into the attack. In the next few matches, whether or not the three-goal performance was indicative of things to come will be determined.
Midfield Solid Despite Contract Disputes
With both Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes in odd situations due to illness (for the former) and contract issues, the Hornets had to play without two of their key midfielders from their promotion campaign. Tom Cleverley provided a familiar face in the midfield and got an assist for his efforts. However, new-signings Peter Etebo and Juraj Kucka especially stood out.
Etebo proved to be a rock in front of the backline while Kucka was a physical force in the centre of the pitch, disrupting the opposition from gaining control of the heart of the pitch while also helping spur attacking opportunities.
Considering the highly-rated Imran Louza did not even play, the Hornets still potentially be on the lookout for another midfielder, and with Chalobah still potentially returning to the squad when back from illness, the Hornets appear to have more than enough when it comes to ensuring sufficient stability in the middle of the park.
Lessons Still Need to Be Learned by Watford
The Hornets know grinding out results this season will be much more difficult than in the last campaign. Watford need to use the final 20 minutes of the match as a lesson to show that taking the foot off of the gas for even the slightest bit of time will be punished. Fortunately, on this occasion, the Hornets were able to let in two goals without sacrificing points.
Further, despite most players performing well, a couple of names had questionable moments. The penalty Adam Masina gave away in the final minute was poor and lazy. Dan Gosling was unable to have the same effect as Kucka who he replaced on the pitch, getting beaten on multiple occasions.
Nonetheless, Xisco Munoz has a strong result to build the rest of the season upon. As the likes of Kiko Femenia, Francisco Sierralta, Louza, Pedro, King, Domingos Quina, and more are thrown into the starting mix, who knows how far the Hornets can go. Perhaps Watford just had a phenomenal opening performance and will not be able to replicate such standards every week and will continue to be relegation favorites. However, they undoubtedly showed early signs that they should, at minimum, be able to become comfortable within the difficulties of the Premier League.
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