Troy Deeney admits Watford targeted Fred during their defeat to Manchester United.

The Hornets were beaten 3-0 by United at Old Trafford, having spurned a number of golden opportunities in the first half.

“I thought Bruno [Fernandes] was very good, surprised me how good he was," Deeney told The United Stand.

“I liked Fred. Although he gives the ball away a lot, he always wants it. So sometimes you see a player lose the ball and then they just go safe, backwards, left, right. He's just like, 'Alright, I lost it, but next one'.

“Because we targeted him. We targeted him, not the manager, but on the pitch he gave the ball away two or three times and we were like, 'Let him have it and then we'll jump on him'.

“We probably won the ball back four or five times in the first half. We tried to do that because we know he likes to take four or five touches instead of maybe doing the two."