Heading into the final 20 minutes of the tense Championship contest at Bramall Lane, Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United looked to be on course to pick up a monumental 1-0 win to shake up proceedings at the top of the table.
However, much like Leeds United managed against Sunderland, the Whites heroically fought back with Junior Firpo initially levelling the game at 1-1, before a late double by Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe handed the Whites another dramatic victory to send them five points clear at the second tier summit.
Wilder was visibly gutted at the final whistle as his promotion-chasing side had to swallow their last-gasp collapse, with a large number of Blades underperformers letting the 57-year-old down on the big occasion.
Sheffield United's biggest underperformers vs Leeds
After a positive first-half display saw the South Yorkshire outfit head into the break one nil to the good, the second half performance – on the contrary – saw United recede into their shell with cracks appearing in their often solid defence.
The likes of former Peterborough United man Harrison Burrows struggled throughout coming up against classy Leeds attackers in the form of Manor Solomon and Daniel James, with the latter of the two speedsters picking up two assists on the night.
Anel Ahmedhodzic also had an uncharacteristically shaky time of things in the heart of defence, away from Burrows’ woes, with zero duels won by the typically imposing Bosnian across the 90 minutes.
Away from the defenders, the attackers also weren’t in full flow in front of the expectant Bramall Lane masses, with second-half substitute Tom Cannon still firing blanks since his arrival from Leicester City, having mustered up just eight meagre touches when introduced.
But, one of Wilder’s main underperformers did come from the disappointing back four, with the underwhelming figure in question having a hard time at winning duels himself when partnering Ahmedhodzic.
Performance in Numbers
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Jack Robinson's performance in numbers
With Rob Holding now in reserve, Blades captain Jack Robinson will be concerned about his starting spot moving forward if his torrid night against Daniel Farke’s table-toppers is anything to go by.
Indeed, the ex-Liverpool youngster turned stalwart in Sheffield was nowhere near the staunch best that saw him win an impressive 11 duels on the road versus Luton Town just before this crunch clash back on home soil.
Minutes played
90
Goals conceded
2
Touches
59
Accurate passes
23/32 (72%)
Possession lost
19x
Accurate long balls
1/9
Successful dribbles
0/1
Tackles
0
Total duels won
1/3
In stark contrast, his showing against the table-toppers saw him win just one pitiful duel all match long, on top of other worrying statistics that saw the usually assured defender squander possession a costly 19 times when Wilder’s hosts were routinely under the cosh.
Also failing to complete a single successful dribble, this was an individual display Robinson won’t look back on with much fondness when the season is up, especially if his side’s ongoing promotion hopes are dented.
Sheffield Star journalist Danny Hall dished out a middle-of-the-road 5/10 rating to Robinson after the match, with all of the defence receiving critical marks off the back of such a sobering final score.
Wilder will hope the 31-year-old can put this out-of-sorts showing behind him quick when United travel to Queens Park Rangers next, with a worry that this poor performance could seriously bruise his confidence.
Whilst Leeds continue to shine at the top of the league, this defeat means United are set to be in for an intense battle with Scott Parker’s Burnley for that second automatic promotion spot, with Wilder praying his team still come out on top.
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