The Norwegian marked his first game since being appointed the permanent boss, with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
It was not the prettiest of afternoons for United, who were made to work for all three points against the FA Cup semi-finalists.
Watford had 20 shots at goal compared to United’s eight meaning David De Gea was a very busy man between the sticks.
But all that matters for the hosts was that they kept the pace on Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for the top four.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson’s stewardship, it was in the club’s DNA that they would find a way to win when not playing particularly playing well.
That was most definitely the case for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, and there was also another indication that Manchester United are on their way back.
Martial’s goal means United are the first team in the Premier League this season to have four players score ten or more goals.
It’s also the first time they have reached the feat since 1995/96.
That was back when United had Paul Scholes, Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs and Eric Cantona chipping in.
The last time United had three players reach ten Premier League goals was in the 2012/13 season when Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie reached the milestone.
Since Solskjaer’s arrival in December, the goals have been shared across United’s attack which has average just below three goals per game.
World Cup winner Pogba is now enjoying his highest-scoring season of his career, having found the net 11 times in the Premier League.
Rashford has also come alive under his new boss, taking his game to a new level through the middle compared to when he was playing under Jose Mourinho.
After the match, Luke Shaw explained that it may not have been United’s best performance but the three points are all that counts.
We made it harder with the way we played,” he said. There were times when we weren’t at our best.
“We were awful in the second half, we were lucky with the result. The most important thing is the three points.
“We had a few chances but we didn’t take them. We need to get ourselves together again and focus on Wolves. We want to go there and get the win.”