Sheffield United maintained their unbeaten away record and climbed up to fifth after a fine solo effort from Oli McBurnie gave them a 1-0 victory at Brighton.
The visitors thought they’d broken the deadlock inside ten minutes as Mat Ryan was caught in no man’s land at a corner. He flailed an arm toward the ball, but got nowhere near, allowing John Egan to bundle into a gaping net. However, VAR spotted a debatable handball by the Blades man, saving the blushes of the Seagulls keeper.
Brighton midfielder Aaron Mooy stung the gloves of Dean Henderson soon after, with the United shot-stopper palming the ball to the unmarked Neal Maupay, who was correctly flagged for offside before he teed up Leandro Trossard at the back post.
Henderson then collected an assist as he pumped a clearance up to McBurnie, the Scotsman leaping above Aaron Webster to guide the ball into space.
David McGoldrick will be wondering how he didn’t double the Blades’ lead in the early stages of the second half. An astonishingly poor header from Webster set him free, with the striker rounding Ryan with ease, only to skew his shot wide as the crowd waited for the net to bulge.
Jack O’Connell became the second visiting centre-back to have a goal chalked off by VAR. However, there was no controversy around this one, the new technology showing the defender had been offside by a considerable margin before pouncing on Ryan’s spilled save.
Brighton lay siege to the Blades box in the closing minutes of the encounter, but rarely threatened to score. Their desperation was summed up by Yves Bissouma’s blatant dive as the clock went red, the midfielder earning himself a yellow card for his attempts to win a penalty.
Brighton
Key Talking Point
Fortunately for Brighton, there’s still a little buffer between themselves and the sides in the relegation zone. Nevertheless, this will have been a rather concerning performance from Graham Potter’s point of view.
The boss watched his recruits put in a lacklustre display for much of the contest, with the home side failing to get any accuracy in the final third. Granted, there was endeavour and determination, but you need more than that when you’re battling for Premier League survival.
Potter will hope this is just a blip, having seen the Seagulls pick up five points from their last three fixtures. However, Brighton have games with Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Everton on the horizon, meaning they may well get dragged into the dogfight in the coming weeks.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Ryan (5); Montoya (6), Webster (3), Dunk (6), Burn (5); Propper (6), Stephens (5); Mooy (7*), Gross (5), Trossard (6); Maupay (5).
Substitutes: Bissouma (6), Murray (5), Connolly (7).
STAR MAN – Aaron Mooy
Much of Brighton’s play was flat on Saturday, but Mooy was one of the few members of the team who looked sharp whenever in possession.
While many of the Seagulls players were wasteful with the ball, he distributed well, and offered a few cute touches to find teammates in space after initially struggling to get a foothold in the game.
Brighton enjoying best spell of game, Aaron Mooy very much to the fore. Very attacking formation from Graham Potter, effectively leaving it 2 on 2 at the back. Mousset’s pace could be crucial. 0-1, 69 mins
— Richard Sutcliffe (@RSooty73) December 21, 2019
This game is showing just why Sheff Utd haven’t lost an away game since Jan. Brighton have been free-flowing of late but they can’t get going against Blades’ strangling formation. Mooy and Trossard have barely touched it and Webster has struggled today
— Tom Barclay (@TomBarclay_) December 21, 2019
Sheffield United
Key Talking Point
Four more wins will practically secure the Blades’ safety, but staying up should no longer be their focus. Instead, Chris Wilder’s men should be eyeing up a place in Europe.
That would have sounded ludicrous at the start of the season, when many thought United would be goners by Christmas. Well, we’ve arrived at the festive period, and things could hardly have been better up in Yorkshire.
The Blades aren’t just racking up the points – they’re doing it in style. On Saturday, they again demonstrated what a quality unit they are, looking strong in every area of the game
If they keep this going, there’s no reason they can’t follow in Wolves’ footsteps and book their spot in next year’s Europe League.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Henderson (8); Baldock (7), Basham (7), Egan (8), O’Connell (6), Stevens (7); Freeman (6), Norwood (7), Lundstram (8*);
Substitutes: Mousset (6), Osborn (7), Besic (6).
STAR MAN – John Lundstram
Lundstram was everywhere for the Yorkshire outfit, hounding Brighton players and disrupting disrupting their rhythm.
The midfielder did what he’s done all season, covering ground and ensuring his side stayed solid, which became increasingly important as the Seagulls upped the ante in the final half-hour.
Actually feel sorry for Mcgoldrick… he does everything bar score
— Jo Cummings (@cummings_jo) December 21, 2019
Looking Ahead
Brighton travel to north London on Boxing Day to do battle with Spurs, before welcoming Bournemouth to the Amex two days later.
While the Seagulls face Spurs, United follow up Christmas with a home game against Watford. After that encounter, they make the journey to Etihad Stadium for a clash with Manchester City on the Sunday.
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