Manchester United moved top of the Premier League table this afternoon courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.

Memphis Depay gave the visitors an early lead, but they looked to have dropped two points when Troy Deeney slammed home a penalty with just three minutes of normal time remaining.

The parity was short-lived, however, as Deeney then nudged the ball over his own line at the other end of the field when trying to keep out a Bastian Schweinsteiger effort in the final minute.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether the visitors deserved all three points.

Match statistics

WATFORD
Shots: 10
On target: 5
Possession: 44%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 6

MAN UTD
Shots: 13
On target: 6
Possession: 56%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

It is always hard to determine whether the result was a fair one or not with such a flurry of late activity, but if either side deserved to win this match then it was United. They controlled the majority of the game and, although the hosts came back into it as the second half progressed, it was United who had looked like the dominant force up until that point. The stats are all relatively even, however, and a draw would not have been an entirely unjust result either.

United held an element of control over the match for the vast majority of the first half, with Watford only enjoying a couple of sights of goal. The visitors didn't create too many clear-cut chances themselves, but they were dominant in possession and looked capable of doing something with it, which hasn't always been the case this season. They began the second half with a flurry of shots too, but Watford gained a foothold around 10 minutes in and from that moment onwards it was slightly tilted in their favour.

David de Gea was forced into making one incredible save to deny a deflected effort with 20 minutes remaining, and while United also had their moments in that spell - most notably a Jesse Lingard chance - it was hard to begrudge Watford the equaliser when it came. The hosts could make a strong argument that they merited a point from this one, and the manner of the winning goal will be particularly gutting as it came via a slice of luck. Still, United were the better team for longer than Watford today.

Watford's performance

Both Manchester City and Arsenal have already found things tough against Watford for long spells this season, despite both going on to win, and it was the same for United this afternoon. In truth, the defensive display from Watford was worse than expected in the first half. They went into the match with one of the best defensive records in the league, but there was no shortage of hairy moments at the back, with players failing to clear their lines at the first attempt, breeding panic and giving United more chances to score.

They only managed to take one of those chances in the first half, however, and as long as the deficit was only one then Watford would have felt that they were in the game. They wasted one decent two-on-two chance in the opening 45 minutes, but that was really all they created in that time. Their best moments came after the break, and United were forced into some last-ditch defending - and one superb save - to keep them at bay at times.

To have finally got the equaliser so late only to then blow it will be tough to take for Quique Flores, but he can take plenty of positives from this performance. They matched United for long spells of the game and had the chances to have even won it, although that would have flattered them. Matches against the likes of United are not going to determine whether they stay up this season, but they have certainly shown enough in their opening 13 games to suggest that they can.

Man Utd's performance

Despite now being top of the table, for a few hours at least, criticisms remain of Louis van Gaal's style of play. Today was a step in the right direction, however. United were more positive in possession than they have been in many games this season, looking to play the match at pace and actually use the ball effectively rather than just keep it. Having said that, clear-cut chances were few and far between for the visitors, so they are still some way from being the finished article.

They were comfortably the better team in the first half, making a bright start to the match and keeping that control over the game up until half time. Memphis took his goal really well, but they rarely looked like actually scoring in the opening 45 minutes. Of course, the onus was not on them to get the game's second goal, but there was always the feeling that a one-goal lead would not be safe with the likes of Odion Ighalo and Deeney on the pitch.

That proved to be the case as Marcos Rojo's careless and needless challenge inside the area gifted Watford a penalty, but United deserve great credit for picking themselves straight back up and going in search of a winner. It came in rather fortuitous circumstances in the end as Deeney knocked Schweinsteiger's shot over the line for what will surely go down as an own goal, but United created the opening themselves and came close just before that through Chris Smalling. It wasn't a performance that will strike fear into the hearts of Man City or Arsenal, but they did just enough to get the three points on the day.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Memphis Depay: He has had to take a fair amount of criticism since his arrival at the club, but this was arguably the best league performance Memphis has put in for United so far. He took his goal really well and threatened with another low drive in the first half despite being in a slightly unfamiliar position as the central striker.

Biggest gaffe

Deeney did score an own goal to win United the game, but that was a desperate attempt to prevent Schweinsteiger from winning and it would be very harsh to hand him this dubious honour. Instead, it goes to Rojo for his needless foul on Ighalo inside the area, which could well have cost United two points with just three minutes remaining.

Referee performance

Bobby Madley produced just three yellow cards this afternoon, all of which were deserved. His only major decision was the late penalty, and he got that spot on as Rojo felled Ighalo from behind inside the area.

What next?

Watford: Next up for the Hornets is a trip to face bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa.

Man Utd: United, meanwhile, are in Champions League action against PSV on Wednesday before facing in-form Leicester next weekend.