In the space of a couple of minutes Troy Deeney scored a goal at the right end and then, unfortunately the other, as Manchester United escaped with a 2-1 win over Watford, a win that takes them to the top of the English Premier League.
A clumsy challenge from substitute Marcos Rojo and a thumping penalty from Troy Deeney looked like earning Watford a point over Manchester United, only for Bastian Schweinsteiger to bundle the ball in from an acute angle with plenty of help from Deeney.
Memphis Depay had put Manchester United in the lead in just the 11th minute of the game, but with five minutes remaining, Rojo made a poor challenge from behind on Odion Ighalo, and captain fantastic Deeney stepped up to fire home the penalty down the middle to draw parity for Watford.
Just when it looked like ending 1-1, Schweinsteiger was on hand to take advantage of a rebound, and even if his shot from an angle wasn't going in, it deflected in off Deeney, who was putting his body on the line to try and prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net.
It all looked like being Memphis Depay's day, after the Dutchman, who has copped a lot of criticism since his high-profile move from PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United in the summer transfer window, opened the scoring with a wonderfully-taken strike.
Only getting an opportunity to impress owing to the injuries to Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial, Depay made sure his manager would not regret the decision to play him centrally by scoring the only goal of the game in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Watford.
All it took for Depay to make his mark was 11 minutes, as the 21-year-old scored off a wonderful volley to give Manchester United the lead, and what also turned out to be the only goal of the game.
It was created from United's right, with Ashley Young and Ander Herrera combining, before the latter put in an inch-perfect cross for Depay to complete a side-footed volley with his left foot into the top of the net.
From there, it was all about control for Manchester United in the first half, with that possession-happy tactic, that has been criticised quite a bit, coming into play, even after Van Gaal was forced to revert to a back-three after Herrera was forced off injured.
There was only one team in it in the first half, and Manchester United could have put the game to bed a minute and a bit into the second, had Jesse Lingard been able to find a way past Hurelho Gomes, who produced a timely save.
Watford, the home team, had to get into the game some time, and they did in the final 35-40 minutes, with Deeney stinging the hands of David De Gea a couple of times, while Almen Abdi forced one of those at-least-one-a-game world-class saves from the Manchester United goalkeeper, who somehow got his right hand across to parry away the Watford man's shot after it took a deflection on the way.
The home team, with the Vicarage Road roaring them on, put everything into it in the final minutes, and found a way through, only for that own goal to change it all again.
If the videos above refuse to play, you can also watch the highlights of the Watford vs Manchester United match HERE
