Release DATE: Sunday, June 28, 2020, 4:02 am
Sheffield United have to recover after Arsenal scored a late winner to beat Chris Wilder’s team 2-1 and 2 Throw them out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A third consecutive loss to the Blades means losing to Wilders boys is a worrying habit, but there have been encouraging signs against the Gunners.
After this Sheff Utd had ruled out a perfect goal against Aston Villa In their first game after the Premier League restart, everything went downhill for Wilder and his team. They pulled this game at Villa Park with the failed goal line technology that cost the blades three key points for their European endeavors. The Steel City team showed two terrible performances against Newcastle United and Manchester United, in which they conceded six goals in two 0-3 defeats.
The Old Trafford loss meant that Sheff Utd had not scored in three consecutive league games for the first time since September 2013. The blades faced Newcastle on June 21 with the second-best defensive record in the Premier League, only behind the champions Liverpool, who conceded six goals in two games, was very unusual for Wilders men. The lack of threat in front of the goal in connection with the recent leaky defense has made the chance of qualifying for the Champions League from the outside very unlikely, although playing in the Europa League seems to be achievable next season . The thought of playing Arsenal – whose own efforts have also left something to be desired since the restart – in the FA Cup may have been a welcome relief for the Sheff Utd players.
It was a quick start for United in their first game on Bramall Lane since March. John Lundstram, the hero of many fantasy football teams, bundled the ball home after nine minutes, only that VAR banned it for offside. It was as good as United in the first half when Arsenal played better football until the break. Chris Basham’s awkward challenge in the Alexandre Lacazette area made sure that lively Nicolas Pepe overtook Dean Henderson in the 25th minute when the Gunners took a 1-0 lead during the break.
Not the result we wanted, but a Wilder’s Blades battle display.
Continue to Tottenham on Thursday ???? pic.twitter.com/nAtmyrRR3V
– Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited), June 28, 2020
Unlike on previous occasions since the restart, Wilders’ half-time talk seemed to motivate his team, who played with much more intention after the break. The lack of Jack O’Connell as a left-overlapping center-back has left a big hole in Sheff Utd’s style of play, but they seemed to be coping much better with his absence here. John Fleck seemed close to his best again after the break and was able to help Enda Stevens on this side of the field. Jack Robinson, who came on for O’Connell, has criticized his attacking game a little – but his long throw was a big weapon for the blades in the second half. His throws kept finding the head of Oli McBurnie, who caused chaos in the Arsenal box, with United having the better chances.
And after one of those long throws, the blades were balanced with only three minutes of normal time. Sead Kolasinac’s release of Robinson’s litter, which was fired by Rob Holding on McGoldrick’s path to reach an easy target at close range. It was nothing more than the blades deserved for their efforts. United, however, suffered again from their newly discovered defensive fragility when they allowed substitute Dani Ceballos all over the world and all the time to push the ball past up-and-coming Henderson for a late winner.
It was the fourth game of the Blades in eleven days, as the hectic schedule starts next Thursday with Tottenham. Wilder will undoubtedly welcome the three-day break as he wants more than just allowing players to rest and relax between games. There were extremely encouraging signs of the blades with a degree of fluidity in their game, especially in the second half, when their build-up was good but was temporarily disappointed by the last ball. Some may say it was difficult not to improve after their last two bleak appearances, but at least United shows that they are improving.
The break could not have been worse for the blades, as Wilder had a well-trained squad while their rivals Man Utd and Tottenham were struggling with injuries. Wilder will be the last to use it as an excuse and the blades need to dust off quickly to breathe life into their Premier League campaign. It would be terrible to see Sheff Utd’s whimper after such an impressive first season in the top division. A win against Spurs on Thursday would keep her right in the European qualification picture.
