- Emmanuel Dennis (10')
- Ismaïla Sarr (42')
- Cucho Hernández (67')
- John McGinn (70')
- Danny Ings (90'+7' Pen)
Watford hold on to make winning Premier League return against Villa
Emmanuel Dennis and Cucho Hernandez scored on their debuts as Watford made a winning return to the Premier League by beating Aston Villa 3-2 in their season opener.
Playing in the centre of Watford's front three, Nigeria international Dennis opened the scoring after 10 minutes by driving home the rebound from his own blocked shot.
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He turned provider when he set up Ismaila Sarr, whose shot took a deflection off the outstretched foot of Tyrone Mings to send it looping over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and into the net three minutes before the break.
Dennis suffered a foot injury and was replaced in the 66th minute by Colombian Hernandez. A minute later the 22-year-old curled home an exquisite strike from the edge of the box in his first game for the club after a number of seasons on loan in Spain.
John McGinn pulled one back for Villa with a brilliant strike on the half-volley from the edge of the area four minutes later, but Villa created little until deep into stoppage time when Bertrand Traore won a penalty.
New signing Danny Ings stepped up to fire home the spot kick but it made little difference to the end result as Watford held on to win 3-2.
Game Information
English Premier League Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arsenal | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | +56 | 77 |
Liverpool | 33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | +43 | 74 |
Manchester City | 32 | 22 | 7 | 3 | +44 | 73 |
Aston Villa | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | +21 | 66 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | +16 | 60 |
Newcastle United | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | +17 | 50 |
Manchester United | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | -1 | 50 |
West Ham United | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | -9 | 48 |
Chelsea | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | +4 | 47 |
Brighton & Hove Albion | 32 | 11 | 11 | 10 | +2 | 44 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 43 |
Fulham | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | -4 | 42 |
AFC Bournemouth | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | -12 | 42 |
Crystal Palace | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | -14 | 36 |
Brentford | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | -7 | 35 |
Everton | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | -14 | 30 |
Nottingham Forest | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | -18 | 26 |
Luton Town | 34 | 6 | 7 | 21 | -28 | 25 |
Burnley | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | -32 | 23 |
Sheffield United | 33 | 3 | 7 | 23 | -57 | 16 |