Forged In Steel

The two Uniteds of Sheffield and Manchester combined to play out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane. Perhaps a sign of how far Manchester United have sunk is the fact that Sheffield United are currently above them in the league; and could even be considered favourites in this home clash.

As how many would have predicted, the home team came out stronger; winning all the second balls and showing greater motivation all-round. Their physical and long-ball play was clearly causing the visitors problems. Phil Jones; rather surprisingly brought into the Man United line-up as the third centre-back in a 3-4-3 formation; started the game pretty well but was soon put to shame as Lys Mousset nudged him off the ball down the right channel; before cutting the ball back for John Lundstram to shoot and John Fleck to score off the rebound.

Worse was to come for the visitors; as Andreas Pereira lost the ball in midfield; leading to the impressive Mousset to stride on and beat David de Gea with a well-placed shot. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer however; had made an important change for the second half; bringing Jones off for Jesse Lingard to change to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Sheffield United were still well in control; but suddenly in the 72nd minute; the goals started to arrive for the visitors; as the match turned on its head. Daniel James for once got space on the right flank to swing in a cross. It was only partially cleared by Chris Basham; for the well-placed Brendon Williams (who may be the next David Beckham chey chey) to latch on and score with a brilliant first-time volley.

Solksjaer went even further this time; bringing on Mason Greenwood for Pereira to switch to an attack-minded 4-4-2 format; with James switching to the left and Greenwood coming in on the right flank. And the young & attacking quartet was now making their mark; with Rashford finding space on the right to clip a Kevin de Bruyne-like pass for Greenwood to slot home. And even better was to come as James & Martial combined for a superb one-two down the left flank; with the Welshman cutting back perfectly for Rashford to lash home. Cue some wild celebrations from the Man United players; as this match had turned improbably in the space of just 7 minutes.

But it was not quite over yet. Chris Wilder's men; who had played so well up to the 70-minute mark; continued to press. And they were rewarded in the final minute; as substitutes Callum Robinson and Oliver McBurnie combined inside the area for the latter to lash home unerringly past a diving de Gea. The VAR did rightly check for handball on McBurnie; but the goal stood and it was the correct decision.

I did feel that Solksjaer perhaps made a blunder when 3-2 up and with Sheffield United on the ropes; he should have pressed home the advantage and maybe get a fourth. Instead, he went for the safe option; taking off a clearly-unhappy Martial for Axel Tuanzebe; who settled into a slightly-unfamiliar position in defensive midfield in a 4-5-1 format. That kind of shifted the momentum back to the home team; and allowed them to forge further upfield to equalise. In the end, this was probably a game both managers could be reasonably happy with. In the meantime, Sheffield United continue their remarkable surge up the table; defying all pre-season predictions of relegation-battling.