The 23-year-old Super Eagle scored on his first day at work and set up one goal as the Hornets claimed a home win
Nigeria international Emmanuel Dennis will never forget the moment he scored his first goal for Watford in a 3-2 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.
In the game that saw three Nigerians – Dennis, Oghenekaro Etebo, and William Troost-Ekong – make their debuts for the Hornets in the top flight, it was Dennis who celebrated most as he put the home team ahead in the 10th minute after a clever pass from Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr.
Dennis, who joined Watford from Club Brugge in Belgium, then set up Sarr for the second goal in the 42nd minute before Cucho Hernandez made it 3-0 in the 67th minute.
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Villa tried a comeback with goals from John McGinn and new signing Danny Ings but Watford held on to bag their first win on opening day.
Dennis has explained his happiness at opening his goal account for Watford and further shed light on his deadly combination with Sarr, which put Villa to the sword.
“I will remember this for all my life, I am really happy, I am really, really happy, I am speechless, I don’t know what to say, I am just really happy,” Dennis told Watford TV after the game.
On his combination with Sarr, Dennis said: “I think we will do wonders together [me and Sarr], we train together in training, we always train together and I know the combination will be very important for me if I am going to be the no.9 for the team, so I am really happy with the combination.
“As I said before, it is a process and I am very happy we started in a good way.”
On the team’s opening win, Dennis explained: “If you look at our squad, we are full of energy and I am very happy for the win because we have been working hard together in pre-season, so I am happy we gave the fans a good performance and they have gone home smiling.”
The combination of Dennis and Sarr also caught the eye of manager Xisco Munoz, who said: “The most important thing is the team understands each other.
“We tried to create space for Dennis and Sarr. It was a brilliant game as we could’ve scored more.
“We know how well he [Sarr] can play, and we know he is a top player. If he has space, he can beat anyone. I think Sarr, Dennis, and [Ken] Sema understand how to attack the space, especially today [Saturday].”