Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has praised the work of Anthony Martial following his contribution to the team's 2-0 victory over Watford in the Premier League.

Martial was handed a rare starting chance by Mourinho and he repaid his manager by scoring one and setting up another for Juan Mata, as the Red Devils ended their three-game drawing streak at Old Trafford in the league.

"People sometimes forget that these teams like Watford and Stoke have very good players. I looked at this team and these players were in Italy when I was in Italy for Napoli, Inter, Lazio. These are top players," said Mourinho, according to BBC Sport.

"In the first half the football was fabulous. The fans got behind the team just before we scored the goal because we were phenomenal. When I got the job they were saying at Manchester United you need to play the football in a certain way and I agree. You cannot play a counterattacking style, but then you have to analyse the situation.

"Martial deserves the chance. He has worked harder than ever in the last two weeks in the way I like - silence but hard."

Mourinho's United side are now unbeaten in 16 league games.