Manchester United climbed to the top of the Premier League table with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road this afternoon.

The hosts thought that they had rescued a point with three minutes remaining when Troy Deeney slammed home a penalty to cancel out Memphis Depay's early volley.

However, there was more late drama to come as Deeney turned a Bastian Schweinsteiger effort into his own net to hand the visitors all three points.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out for both sides over the course of the 90 minutes.

WATFORD

Goal

Heurelho Gomes: Had one or two shaky moments, but nothing on the same scale as last time out and also managed to make a couple of good saves, albeit in vain in the end. (6/10)

Defence

Allan Nyom: Didn't exactly inspire confidence at the back. Set the tone for a shaky performance with a sliced attempted clearance that ended up on the roof of his own net early on. (5/10)

Craig Cathcart: Partially to blame for the opening goal of the game, but the cross and finish were both on the money. (6/10)

Miguel Britos: Probably the best of the Watford defenders. Rarely looked panicked and dealt with whoever he came up against pretty comfortably. (6/10)

Ikechi Anya: Looked out of place at left-back, but had a bigger impact when moved out onto the right wing for the second half. (6/10)

Midfield

Etienne Capoue: Strong performance in the middle of the park to protect his defence. Was composed in possession and helped to both break up United attacks and begin forward momentum for his own side. (7/10)

Ben Watson: Nothing spectacular in the centre of the park. Played safe and helped to prevent United from creating too many clear goalscoring opportunities. (6/10)

Almen Abdi: Grew into the match in the second half, just like Watford as a team did. Denied a goal by a fantastic save from De Gea. (6/10)

Jose Jurado: Really struggled to get involved down the left flank, and it was no surprise to see him taken off at half time as a result. (5/10)

Attack

Troy Deeney: Had long spells where he didn't see much of the ball, but had two vicious efforts saved by De Gea and lashed home the penalty. His own goal ultimately proved to be the difference, but it was desperately unlucky for the skipper. (7/10)

Odion Ighalo: So sharp in and around the box. Had a couple of sights of goal that were largely of his own making and won the penalty for his side with some good hold-up play inside the area. (7/10)

Substitutes

Nathan Ake: Came on at half time and made a difference down the left flank as Watford grew into the match the longer the second half went on. (6/10)

Juan Carlos Paredes: Also brought something different to the Watford attack after coming on, but was ultimately unable to prevent them from losing. (6/10)

MAN UTD

Goal

David de Gea: Denied a couple of ferocious drives from Deeney in the second half and pulled off a truly world-class stop to tip Abdi's deflected shot past the post. Nothing he could do about the penalty. (8/10)

Defence

Ashley Young: Caught in possession to gift Watford a chance in the first half, but that was one of few errors made today. In general, he got forward well and his crosses caused the hosts problems. (6/10)

Phil Jones: Strong performance at the heart of the defence to keep Ighalo and Deeney relatively quiet. Dominant in the air and had things his own way on the floor more often than not too. (7/10)

Chris Smalling: Another impressive display from Smalling, who helped to thwart Ighalo and even came close to grabbing the winner at the end with a clever flick, moments before Deeney's own goal. (7/10)

Daley Blind: Started at left-back and was pushed a little further up following the injury to Herrera. Played well in both roles, with his passing in particular catching the eye. (7/10)

Midfield

Morgan Schneiderlin: Always seemed to be involved, whatever was happening. Broke up plenty of Watford attacks and popped up at the other end of the pitch a few times too. Made one vital block to deny Ighalo from close range. (8/10)

Bastian Schweinsteiger: Classy performance throughout in the middle of the park, dictating an improved tempo for United. Forced the late winner and may try to claim it himself, although it will surely go down as an own goal. (8/10)

Juan Mata: Has been one of United's best players this season, but he was outshone by others today. Did nothing wrong, but didn't particularly grab the eye either. (6/10)

Ander Herrera: Provided the cross for the opening goal, but didn't last much long after that before being forced off with an injury. (7/10)

Attack

Jesse Lingard: Should have put the game to bed before Watford's equaliser when he sent an attempted lob straight into the arms of Gomes. Another encouraging display on the whole, though. (7/10)

Memphis Depay: Opened the scoring with a delightful cushioned volley on his return to the side. Sights of goals were something of a rarity from that point on, but his movement and link-up play was impressive. (8/10)

Substitutes

Marcos Rojo: Replaced the injured Herrera after 25 minutes, but quite what he was thinking when he needlessly brought Ighalo down inside the box late on, only he will know. (5/10)

Paddy McNair: On for Jones with just over 20 minutes remaining and just about helped United to see out a victory. (6/10)

Andreas Pereira: Replaced Mata for the final 10 minutes or so, but was unable to make a substantial impact. (6/10)