Jose Mourinho hailed the spirit of his Manchester United team after they withstood intense late pressure from early Premier League pacesetters Watford to win 2-1 and relieve the pressure on his shoulders. United have endured a miserable start to the season, losing two of their first four matches and slipping well off the searing pace set by Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford themselves.

But two goals in three first-half minutes from in-form Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling gave them valuable breathing space at half-time and ultimately paved the way to a victory that ended Watford's perfect record. Rocked by United's strong finish to the first half, Watford pulled a goal back midway through the second period through Andre Gray but failed to find an equaliser. A relaxed-looking Mourinho singled out Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini for praise. "I'm very happy with the points," he said.