Emmanuel Dennis became the fourth Nigerian player to score on his Premier League debut after he opened the scoring in their 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 23-year-old joined his compatriots Oghenekaro Etebo and William Troost-Ekong in making their English top-flight debuts at Vicarage Road and he instantly made a statement in front of goal.
Dennis gave the hosts an early lead with his strike in the 10th minute and he later contributed to their second goal with an assist.
He laid the assist for Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr to double their lead, just three minutes before the half-time break.
His goal puts him alongside John Utaka, Peter Odemwingie and Odion Ighalo as Nigerian players who scored on their maiden outing in the Premier League.
Utaka, after joining Portsmouth from Rennes in July 2007, opened his goal account in the English top-flight on his maiden outing against Derby County a month later.
A day after joining West Bromwich Albion in August 2010, Odemwingie scored the winning goal on his Premier League debut against Sunderland.
Six years ago, Ighalo achieved the same feat at Watford after he came off the bench to open his Premier League goal account in an encounter that ended in a 2-2 draw against Everton.
Dennis was later replaced by Juan Hernandez in the 66th minute, who immediately stretched the Hornets' lead to 3-0 with a curling finish from the edge of the penalty area.
Saturday's goal came as a relief for the Super Eagles forward who did not find the back of the net in a league match throughout last season during his spells at Club Brugge and FC Cologne.
He spent the first-half of 2020-21 in Belgium where he played in nine league matches before he was loaned to the Bundesliga in January, where he made another nine appearances for Cologne without scoring.
Dennis joined Watford on a five-year deal in June and he will be looking to build on his opening goal in their next Premier League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday.