Analysis: Watford

Javi Gracia set Watford up in a 4-3-3 formation in possession, with Nathaniel Chalobah as the deep-lying midfielder behind Abdoulaye Doucoure and Will Hughes. Isaac Success and Roberto Pereyra supported central striker Troy Deeney in attack.

As expected, Watford saw very little of the ball, registering only 36 per cent possession across the 90 minutes. When they did have the ball, they would send direct passes to Deeney or Success, with runners from midfield looking to pick up the second balls in more advanced areas. The hosts also tried to exploit opportunities on the counter-attack, but their passing in these moments was not good enough to ever really threaten the Manchester City defence.

In the last 15 minutes, the hosts adopted a more attacking approach and managed to get hold of the ball more often. Andre Gray came on to partner Deeney up front, with Gerard Deulofeu and Pereyra operating wide of Domingos Quina and Doucoure in a midfield four. They now looked to get balls into the City box, either through direct passes or moving the ball wide and crossing. This led to Doucoure pulling one back with five minutes remaining, and could even have yielded a very late equaliser.

Out of possession, the Hornets set up in a 4-5-1 mid/low block and looked to deny City space to penetrate through centrally. Success or Deeney joined the midfield line on the right side, while Pereyra would drop in on the left. The hosts allowed Vincent Kompany and John Stones to have possession, but had to maintain discipline within their units as the centre-backs drove towards them in an attempt to draw players in and open up passing lanes behind them. Instead, Watford allowed the ball to go wide and would then close down in threes – generally with full-back, wide midfielder and near-side central midfielder.

City dominated possession and had Watford camped in their own defensive third for long periods. In these situations, the distance between Watford’s midfield and defensive units could be as small as five yards as they tried to form an immovable wall between City and their goal. When the champions did find a way through, the superb Ben Foster regularly came to the rescue.

When City had the ball deeper in their own half, Watford’s structure could often take on a 4-3-3 form. In this shape, Pereyra or Success would look to show the City players inside the pitch rather than out wide, in an attempt to force the visitors towards their compact central three and into traffic. In the last 20 minutes, Watford also began pressing City much higher up the pitch – this carried greater risk but also offered greater reward, as seen in the late goal that ultimately proved little more than consolation.