Sheffield United had yet another disheartening afternoon at Turf Moor on Saturday as they conceded five goals without reply to relegation rivals Burnley.
Burnley quickly took the lead with Jay Rodriguez scoring just 14 seconds into the match, and Jacob Brunn Larsen added a second before the half-hour mark. Oli McBurnie received two yellow cards, leading to his dismissal before halftime.
In the second half, Zeki Amdouni, Luca Kolesosho, and Josh Brownhill further extended Burnley’s lead on the scoresheet.
Line ups
Burnley: Trafford, O’Shea (Ekdal 83), Taylor, Beyer, Brownhill, Rodriguez (Obafemi 77), Berge, Vitinho, Amdouni (Redmond 77), Koleosho (Tresor 77), Bruun Larsen (Gudmundsson 65).
Unused: Vigouroux, Ramsey, Massengo, Odobert.
Blades: Foderingham, Baldock (Bogle 24), Fleck (McAtee 45), Trusty, Hamer, McBurnie, Archer (Traoré 45), Thomas (Osula 45), Ahmedhodžić, Norwood, Robinson.
Unused: Davies, Lowe, Souza, Slimane, Larouci.
First half
The game started in the worst possible way for the Blades as Burnley took the lead straight from the kick-off. Taylor had too much space on the left, and Rodriguez headed home past Foderingham. United’s first attempt at goal came on 13 minutes when Hamer sent a speculative effort wide from distance.
United seemed to be growing into the game as Norwood tested Trafford with a shot from 25 yards after the hosts partially cleared Robinson’s long throw. Minutes later, Baldock, in obvious discomfort with his leg, was replaced by Bogle.
Approaching the half-hour mark, the Clarets doubled their lead as Bruun Larsen exploited the offside trap and slotted past Foderingham from O’Shea’s long ball forward. Archer missed an instant chance to reduce the deficit, firing over after good work by Trusty on the overlap.
The first half concluded with a flurry of bookings, and the Blades were reduced to ten men. Fleck was booked for a lunge on Brownhill, McBurnie received a yellow for catching O’Shea, and moments later, McBurnie, despite winning the header cleanly, caught O’Shea again, resulting in a second yellow and a sending off.
Second half
At the break, United made a triple change, introducing McAtee, Osula, and Traoré for Thomas, Fleck, and Archer. In the opening exchanges of the second period Robinson blocked an effort from Vitinho, after some neat combination play with Bruun Larsen. Osula received a yellow card following a challenge with Brownhill.
Despite being a man down, United appeared competitive in the second half, with Osula denied by Trafford after Hamer’s driving run. Osula headed over after a corner was kept alive by Traoré. Ahmedhodzic and Hamer were both booked. While Amdouni scored with a left-footed strike, with Taylor claiming the assist.
Shortly after, Koleosho hit the post after Foderingham denied Amdouni but scored less than a minute later with the aid of the near post. And then Brownhill stroked home the fifth in the 80th minute, concluding the scoring and notable action for the match.
The Blades have played back-to-back games against relegation rivals and have lost by an aggregate of 8-1, highlighting the gap in quality between Sheffield United and those around them.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men are next in action on Wednesday night against Liverpool at Bramall Lane.
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