Slaven Bilic got off to the perfect start as head coach as Watford produced one of the comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Championship. Rob Edwards was fired on Monday after only one win in seven league games, making former West Ham manager Bilic Watford’s fourth manager in three years. The club’s largest victory since thrashing Bristol City 6-0 in February 2021 was achieved by Bilic’s team at the bet365 Stadium thanks to goals from Ismaila Sarr, Ken Sema, Keinan Davis, and Vakoun Issouf Bayo.
Both the fact that his team managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time in 11 games and their first victory away from home since March will excite Bilic. And if it weren’t for the visitors’ two attempts at the post in the opening 90 seconds, it may have been much more convincing. Alex Neil, Bilic’s opponent, has struggled since switching from Sunderland to Stoke at the end of August. In his first five matches in command of the Potters, the former Preston manager has only managed one victory.
Managers Reaction
Watford head coach Slaven Bilic: “A fantastic start, indeed. Four goals and a clean sheet were well deserved. What matters most is that the strikers scored goals. You had a dream like that before a game. We were excellent, especially after the score was 2-0. The players’ potential, imagination, and bravery were released by the second goal.”
Stoke boss Alex Neil: “Since they can strike us in transition when they have their noses in front, I believe the first goal certainly has an impact. This forces us to force the issue. Although I think the first goal was offside, I believed the second half had begun well up until that point. I believed we had the upper hand since we had hemmed them in.”
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