Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary   Goals: 1

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Leaders Manchester City survived a late scare to see off Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

The reigning champions had controlled Tuesday’s game and led through goals from Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez but Abdoulaye Doucoure scrambled in for Watford in the 85th minute to give the hosts hope of an unlikely comeback.  Watford sent goalkeeper Ben Foster forward for set-pieces in a frantic finish, with Guardiola introducing defensive reinforcements to deal with the pressure, but the visitors held on for their seventh successive league win.

Abdoulaye Doucouré bundled in an 85th-minute goal and City ended the match sucked into a pressure situation. Defending set pieces, all hands to the pump, nerves on edge, it was a reminder of how quickly, and how dangerously, control can evaporate.

It would be unfair to overlook the level of City’s dominance for most of this game against a club that for the last two seasons has beaten the reigning champions at Vicarage Road.

As this was Watford’s “rainbow laces” game in support of LGBT+ inclusion in sport, the 1881 and the Proud Hornets had worked together to put on a rainbow banner display in the Rookery, which was absolutely magnificent.