Only Mo Salah is better: Emmanuel Dennis’ brilliance against Manchester United in numbers

Watford on Saturday completely outclassed the Red Devils, and there was no other player on the pitch who made as much impact as the Nigerian attacker

Super Eagles forward Emmanuel Dennis got the last goal as Watford sealed a memorable 4-1 win over Manchester United at the Vicarage Road.

Joshua King, Ismaïla Sarr, and João Pedro were all on the scoresheet on a beautiful afternoon where the Hornets could have scored more.

However, Dennis’ impact, which included two assists, put him head and shoulder above others, earning him an unrivalled 8.1 Sofascore rating and the man-of-the-match award.

On a day when everything went perfectly for the Nigerian star, Dennis made three key passes (joint-most with teammates Louza and Adam Masina), created one big chance, completed two of his six attempted dribbles, and won six of 13 duels.

He also made two interceptions, three recoveries and pressed Man United 21 times, the most of any Hornets’ players.

With four goals and five assists in 833 minutes spread across 11 Premier League games, Dennis has now been directly involved in nine goals for Watford this season. Only Mohamed Salah (11 goals and seven assists) has more goal involvements in the division.

With his tally, Dennis is currently joint-fourth in the assists table and inside the top 10 for goals this season in the Premier League.

These are quite impressive numbers for a forward who flopped in the German Bundesliga with FC Cologne last season and was considered surplus to requirements at Club Brugge in Belgium.

Before his goal against the Red Devils, Dennis had found the back of the net in away victories at Everton, Norwich City, and the home win over Aston Villa in mid-August.

Dennis’ one-goal-and-two-assists performance against United was a repeat of a similar display in the 5-2 thrashing of the Toffees in late October.

Dennis’ skill-sets seem perfectly cut for the Premier League, and the Nigerian international could be even more decisive for Watford as manager Claudio Ranieri looks to turn the Hornets into a tough-to-beat outfit.

Stats obtained from Watford and Sofascore.