Vakoun Bayo netted a brace as Watford scored four second-half goals to earn a comprehensive 5-1 Championship comeback victory at Preston.
Valerien Ismael’s side came from behind before eventually running riot during what was a superb second-half performance.
It proved a perfect response after they had picked up just a single point from their two previous games.
Preston, meanwhile, continue to stutter and following a brilliant start to their Championship campaign, they have now lost four of their last six and were booed off at the end.
Watford made a bright start at sunny Deepdale. After an early corner-kick was not cleared by a hesitant Preston defence, Ismael Kone should have done better when he scooped over the top from 10 yards.
North End replied by going mightily close to an early opener themselves, defender Jordan Storey rising superbly to meet skipper Alan Browne’s cross, but his thumping header was brilliantly saved by Ben Hamer.
The Watford goalkeeper then did even better when he produced a breathtaking double save to keep out Brad Potts.
It had been an end-to-end opening spell and after 20 minutes the visitors ought to have struck.
Bayo charged through and rounded goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, only for Jack Whatmough to produce a heroic goal-line clearance just as the Watford man was preparing to celebrate.
Back came Ryan Lowe’s men and Hamer had to be alert again to keep out Liam Millar’s thumping effort.
Preston scored a super little goal after 27 minutes to break the deadlock. Will Keane grabbed it, courtesy of a cheeky back-heel flicked finish as he met Millar’s low cross.
Watford evened it up with another impressive goal three minutes before the break. Wesley Hoedt whipped in a super cross for Bayo, who dived in to thump home a bullet header at the far post.
Incredibly, Watford turned the scoreline on its head just 17 seconds after the restart.
Matheus Martins charged on to Ismael Kone’s through-ball before tucking the ball smartly past a stunned Woodman.
Seven minutes later it was 3-1, when Edo Kayembe took Tom Dele-Bishiru’s pass before drilling home brilliantly from almost 30 yards.
North End and their fans had been silenced, while boss Lowe saw fit to make a quadruple change.
That clearly did not work, however, as Bayo converted Kayembe’s pass to make it four, before Kone smashed home a fifth from 15 yards with still 13 minutes left on the clock.
That was the cue for a large proportion of the fans in the home enclosures to up and leave their seats, while the Watford supporters rejoiced behind their goal as Ismael’s team had been ruthlessly clinical.
Luton boss Edwards urges Hatters to keep the faith in Premier League relegation scrap
Rob Edwards urged his Luton Town team and the club's supporters to keep the faith as the Hatters aim to stay in the Premier League.
A 1-1 draw with Everton at home on Friday was not the result Luton truly needed as they look to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
It moved Luton onto 26 points, level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who face already-relegated Sheffield United on Saturday.
Forest could yet be in to get some of the four points they were deducted for a breach of the Premier League's financial rules back, however, with a decision on their appeal expected to arrive in the coming days.
Edwards hinted at that uncertainty in his comments after the Everton game, as he asked his team to keep going.
He said: "We wanted a win. We threw everything at it. We tried. We were the team pushing right until the end.
"In the end a draw wasn't what we wanted. I'm proud of the players, the club, the supporters. They stayed with us until the end. We tried to do all the right things. We're still in the mix.
"On another day we could have won the game but we didn't. We've got to keep going. We don't have a crystal ball. It might be four points, five, six. It might be enough. We've got to believe it is, [so] we go again."
Luton head to West Ham next week, before hosting Fulham on the final day of the season.
Everton, who took the lead through Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty but were pegged back by Elijah Adebayo's strike, were already sure of their Premier League status heading into Friday's match.
Asked if he had a preference on which team out of Forest, Luton and his former club Burnley avoided the drop, Sean Dyche told reporters: "No one cared about us at Everton when we were down there last season, so they will have to fight it out.
"We had to fight it out last season and take care of ourselves, all the clubs will have to fight it out.
"We took care of ourselves again this season with many challenges and I am very proud of that, but it is not for choosing ifs, buts and maybes and sides.
"I have been down there myself and you have to take care of yourself. No one gives you anything, they have all got to fight it out and see who gets the job done.”
Spurs 'need change', says Postecoglou
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has conceded Spurs "need change" after a poor run of form has seen their Champions League hopes fade.
Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League, but a sorry performance against Chelsea in a 2-0 loss on Thursday left them seven points behind Aston Villa.
Tottenham have lost their last three matches, conceding nine goals, though those defeats have come against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
And while Postecoglou has had a promising first season, he stressed the requirement for changes to Spurs' playing squad if they are to settle wholly into his preferred style of play.
"We need change. Change has to happen," Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday's clash with Liverpool.
"We're pivoting to a whole different direction, expecting the same people are going to be in on that... it's just not going to happen.
"We've had two windows and we've had some development of players, for sure, but when I say we've still got a long way to go, that's what I'm talking about.
"We can't be there yet because it's impossible to say you're going to have drastic change and yet expect everyone to be on that journey... whether it's Liverpool or Arsenal, by the time they win the competition or have success, the team's almost unrecognisable."
Richarlison, who enjoyed a rich run of form earlier in the campaign but has not scored since netting twice against his former club Everton in February, is one of the players who Spurs will reportedly listen to offers for in the upcoming transfer window.
After playing Liverpool, Spurs face Burnley and Manchester City before rounding off their campaign against already-relegated Sheffield United.
Terzic will rotate with Champions League qualification secured
Borussia Dortmund can rotate their side for this weekend's game with Augsburg after their win over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek secured Germany a fifth place in next season's Champions League.
Those are the thoughts of coach Edin Terzic ahead of Saturday's home game.
Dortmund are fifth in the Bundesliga, and with a 12-point gap over Eintracht Frankfurt and three games remaining, they are guaranteed a place in the Champions League, and can concentrate on the semi-final second leg against PSG on Tuesday, with a 1-0 advantage.
Terzic told reporters: "Obviously we are thinking about having energy and freshness tomorrow. We will rotate as we have done in the past but we will have a very good team on the pitch tomorrow.
"We will think about freshness. We will also think about giving chances, as there is no huge pressure tomorrow with our minimum goal secured."
Forward Sebastien Haller remained on the bench for the home win against PSG on Wednesday, and will be rested against Augsburg, but others who were involved should make an appearance, even if not for the full game.
"Rotation does not mean someone will not play at all but that you can spilt up participation times," Terzic said.
"We came through Wednesday's game pretty well. Only Sebastien Haller didn't feel well in the warm-up, we won't risk him for tomorrow but he is fine for next week."
Despite there being less pressure, Dortmund should still have plenty of motivation against Augsburg, especially after their 4-1 defeat at RB Leipzig last weekend and with just one win in their last four league games.
"It is a Bundesliga game at home and we have to do a bit better, especially at home. We have one month, and we have to show good performances and tomorrow everyone on the pitch can show how valuable they are for the club," Terzic added.
"If we have to talk about motivating them to play in front of 81,000 in the Bundesliga against Augsburg then we have a problem."
Dortmund are on 57 points, six behind Leipzig, while Augsburg are ninth in the standings on 39 points.
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