The roar at the final whistle said it all. It was loud and throaty, emanating from every stand and a clear sign that Watford’s supporters believe relegation may not be a formality after all. At the very least they have hope after this most stirring of victories by a group of players who, having appeared resigned to their fate in recent weeks, are clearly energised and up for the fight.

There was evidence of that in defeat by Liverpool the Saturday before last and again on Sunday as Watford recorded a first league win here since April. It was not pretty, and the hosts cannot deny they were handed a huge dose of fortune given David de Gea’s catastrophic role in the first goal, but neither were the men in yellow and black lucky. They fully earned this triumph.

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Watford were well organised in defence, aggressive in midfield and, while hardly sizzling in attack, Gerard Deulofeu, Ismaïla Sarr and Troy Deeney consistently posed a threat with their energy, movement and desire out wide and through the middle. Nigel Pearson rightly praised his team’s “collective spirit” and for him this was some way to mark a first home game in charge, proof that those he has been tasked with rescuing fully trust in his methods of doing so.

It has been a startling turnaround by Pearson since arriving as Watford’s third permanent manager of the season this month but, as is typical of the man, he refused to get carried away. There was talk of a need for all concerned not to go overboard and that is probably fair given that Watford remain bottom. But at least they are now level on points with Norwich City in 19th place and have reason to feel optimistic going into the festive period, something that cannot be said of the team they defeated.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Troy Deeney sends David de Gea the wrong way from the penalty spot for Watford’s second goal. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images via Reuters

As has often been the case against supposedly weaker opposition this season, Manchester United were incredibly poor, showing little urgency or cohesion in their attacking play. Passes either went sideways or nowhere, with the front four a shadow of how they had performed in their last away game – the 2-1 victory at Manchester City – with none of them as bad as Jesse Lingard, who continues to look like the answer to a question nobody is asking and who, after 33 minutes, made a complete mess of United’s best chance.

Put clean through by Anthony Martial’s well-weighted pass, the 27-year-old looked set to hit a low shot past the outrushing Ben Foster that would almost certainly have resulted in the opening goal. Instead he decided to chip Foster and could only look on with anguish as the ball sailed harmlessly over. It is more than 25 hours since Lingard’s last goal or assist in the league and, on the evidence of this display, he is not going to break that duck any time soon. Others in red were also well below par but, from a United point of view, it was ultimately the man in lime green whose contribution here will live longest in the memory.

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Five minutes of the second half had been played when Watford were presented with a free-kick by the right touchline. Will Hughes swung the set piece into the area and, following a flick-on, the ball landed at the feet of Sarr. He hit a shot and, as had been the case at Anfield, it was poorly executed on the part of the 21-year-old Senegalese. De Gea seemed set for an easy catch at his near post but instead the ball squirmed through the Spaniard’s hands like a bar of soap and dropped into the net.

The sense of shock across the stadium was tangible and for De Gea it was a moment of personal ordeal, leading to him lying face down on the turf and seemingly wanting the ground to swallow him. Ole Gunnar Solskjær refused to criticise the player but there is clearly an issue for him to deal with given this was the sixth error directly leading to a goal that his No 1 has made since the start of last season.

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Shortly afterwards De Gea had to deal with the ball going past him again, this time after Deeney had thumped a penalty down the centre of goal following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s clumsy challenge on Sarr, and in what felt like the blink of an eye the momentum of this game had shifted. Watford were in control and United firmly on the ropes, paying for their sloppiness and lack of assurance in all departments.

Solskjær reacted by bringing on Paul Pogba in the 64th minute, the Frenchman making his first appearance for United since September having been sidelined by an ankle injury, and while he injected urgency into their play, which led to a flurry of chances, it was not enough to spark a recovery for a team who had arrived only an hour before kick-off because of traffic and ultimately returned to Manchester with yet more doubts surrounding the ability of Solskjær, on the anniversary of his first match in charge, to instigate a genuine turnaround of a once-mighty institution.