Three things we learned: Manchester United 1-0 Watford

Manchester United ended their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 triumph over Watford on Sunday. The game was tightly contested with very few scoring opportunities but Marcus Rashford netted the winner in the 34th minute after a vintage pass from Michael Carrick in the lead up.

Three things we learned:
Michael Carrick has a fitting Old Trafford farewell: The 36-year-old has already announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season and he marked his final Old Trafford appearance with a top-notch showing. Right from the start, Carrick showed glimpses of his ability in the centre of the park and his match-defining moment came via a vintage long-range pass for Juan Mata, who unselfishly laid the ball to Rashford for the winner. Carrick was fittingly adjudged the club’s man of the match and this could end up as his final appearance in the United shirt.
Manchester United’s struggles in the absence of Lukaku: The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford have all started upfront in Romelu Lukaku’s injury absence but none of them have managed to impress with their performances. Rashford did find the net in the curtain closer against Watford but aside from this, the Englishman’s showing was pretty disappointing owing to his poor decision-making from potential goalscoring positions. Thankfully for United, Lukaku is expected to return to training on Tuesday after recovering from his ankle problem and this has provided a timely boost ahead of their FA Cup final against Chelsea next weekend.
Watford’s potential decision on Javi Gracia: Watford have been prone to chopping and changing managers after every season and this campaign brought something of a surprise after Marco Silva was axed in January. His successor Javi Gracia has comfortably guided the Hornets to a position of relative safety but there remain question marks over the Spaniard’s future beyond the summer. Following the United game. the 48-year-old has revealed that he has been assured of his position but the next couple of days could give a fair reflection of the hierarchy’s stance.