Watford 4-1 Manchester United: Harry Maguire sent off as misery is compounded for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Harry Maguire was sent off as beleaguered Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered more misery in an emphatic defeat at Watford.

The Hornets should have gone ahead when Scott McTominay bundled over forward Joshua King inside the box, but goalkeeper David de Gea saved Ismaila Sarr's penalty - then kept out his retake, ordered by the referee for encroachment.

Kiko Femenia had actually converted the rebound from Sarr's first spot-kick - but he had encroached too, so the goal was ruled out as the retake decision was made.

King opened the scoring thanks to Emmanuel Dennis' assist, before Sarr atoned for his penalty failures by sending a right-footed shot across De Gea to make it 2-0.

In the second half, United's forgotten man Donny van de Beek - on as a substitute for the booked McTominay - pulled one back from Cristiano Ronaldo's knock down following England winger Jadon Sancho's searching cross.

But the nightmare continued for Solskjaer as Maguire was booked twice in seven minutes and sent off.

United looked to have a sliver of hope with 13 minutes left when the lively Van de Beek found Ronaldo with a through ball, but the Portugal captain's goal was ruled out for offside.

In the closing moments, to the delight of the loud Watford faithful, Joao Pedro added a third goal before Dennis made it 4-1.

The defeat means United have tumbled down the table to seventh on 17 points, while Claudio Ranieri's side are only four points behind them in 16th.

• De Gea calls 4-1 loss to Watford 'embarrassing' & 'another nightmare'

Can Solskjaer survive this latest setback?

In the hours before Manchester United kicked off at Vicarage Road, Ronaldo posted on Instagram: "Time to roll up the sleeves once again and just get the job done! Let's chase what we are trying to achieve this season!"

It remains to be seen exactly what the 13-time Premier League champions' full objectives are this campaign, but a defeat against Ranieri's Watford will only add more fuel to the pressure pit Solskjaer finds himself in.

After Manchester City cruised to victory at Old Trafford on 6 November, the Norwegian said his team had "worked on a few things" this week in order to stop the rot and fall further adrift of the title front-runners.

Unfortunately, Ranieri's tactics managed to dismantle the "few things" Solskjaer would have been banking on to deliver his team a much-needed three points.

The dismal display was summed up by the contrasting performances of Bruno Fernandes and Van de Beek.

Fernandes, so often the main attraction for United, saw his wretched pass contribute to Watford being awarded a penalty in the first half. By the second 45 minutes, the Portugal international watched a shot balloon miles over the crossbar when on any other day, it might have been the creative masterstroke that saved Solskjaer's skin.

Van de Beek, on the other hand, was once again relegated to the bench; not even given a place in the starting XI in order to give McTominay - who was reportedly suffering with a sore throat - chance to recover.

Yet the Dutchman was a bright spark and looked to have thrown his manager a lifeline when his header found its way past Hornets keeper Ben Foster. Whether Van de Beek's second-half stint is enough for Solskjaer to keep faith in him for the Champions League group game with Villarreal on Tuesday is a hard question to answer.

In terms of the Premier League, United now have only one win in seven games, and four points from a possible 21. Will Ole still be at the wheel?

Celebration time for Watford

While all the headlines will be aimed towards how long Solskjaer has left at Old Trafford, nothing should be taken away from Watford.

In times gone by, failing to convert two spot-kicks against United would have been heavily punished but as the raucous crowd sang "you're getting sacked in the morning" towards the opposition dugout, the Hornets fans were confident a home win was a done deal.

With 2-1 looking the most likely outcome, the atmosphere was amplified even more when Pedro and Dennis further increased Watford's lead. The third was again provided by Dennis, who slid a fine pass to substitute Pedro to fire a shot between De Gea's legs from a tight angle.

The icing on the cake was delivered by Dennis himself after the striker found space in behind the weary United defence and his low strike went beyond De Gea.

Life at Vicarage Road has been anything but dull for Ranieri since the Italian took over in October. In the five league games the well-travelled boss has been in charge, Watford have scored nine goals and conceded 10.

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