Man United cools off Watford with 2-1 away win

London : Manchester United handed Watford its first loss of the new Premier League season, coming away with a 2-1 victory thanks to the outstanding play of Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea.

The hosts were in control of the game in the early going at Vicarage Road on Saturday and nearly opened the scoring on a blast by Troy Deeney that De Gea managed to save, reports Efe news.

The Red Devils, however, responded emphatically to grab a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks to goals by Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling in the 35th and 38th minutes respectively.

Watford faced an uphill battle in trying to rally against Jose Mourinho's men but nearly pulled it off, with Andre Gray scoring in the 65th minute and De Gea coming up with a remarkable save to deny a header by Christian Kabasele in second-half stoppage time.

Despite the home loss, Watford (4-0-1) is still in fourth place in the Premier League with 12 points after five matches, just three behind first-place Chelsea.

Manchester United is provisionally in eighth place with nine points.

In other results, Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1, Manchester City routed Fulham 3-0, Bournemouth outgunned Leicester City 4-2, Arsenal edged Newcastle 2-1, Crystal Palace topped Huddersfield Town 1-0 and Chelsea trounced Cardiff 4-1.