Brentford’s midweek loss at Brighton saw them drop to 11th in the Premier League and they also had to make do with the loss of talisman Bryan Mbuemo, but Thomas Frank reverted to a 4-3-3 formation for their trip to Bramble Lane, with Keane Lewis-Potter making a return to the starting eleven in one of three changes for the Bees.
Chris Wilder named an unchanged starting line up from their 2-0 midweek loss against Liverpool, hoping to bring some stability to a side who have been in disarray.
SHU: Foderingham, Trusty, Robinson, Ahmedhodzic, Hamer, Brooks, Vinicius Souza, Bogle, Osula, McAtee, Archer
BRE: Flekken, Janelt, Pinnock, Mee, Ghoddos, Baptiste, Norgaard, Onyeka, Lewis-Potter, Wissa, Maupay
It was a moment of magic from James McAtee that secured the three points for Chris Wilder and his side in a game of few chances, but the Blades won’t care as they picked up maximum points at Bramall Lane.
A couple of promising moments for Cameron Archer for Sheffield United were the best they could muster in a lacklustre first half hour, but the game was ignited by a controversial moment from Brentford’s Frank Onyeka.
The Brentford midfielder looked to go over the top of the ball in a crunching tackle on Vinicius Souza, with referee, Stuart Attwell giving a yellow card.
There was a long VAR check, but the decision remained at a yellow card with Brentford lucky to keep eleven men on the pitch.
Moments later, it could have been salt rubbed into Blades’ wounds as an Onyeka shot was kept out by Foderingham and the United shot stopper also saved from Maupay before the game’s finest moment.
In what would end up being the winner, James McAtee took down a long ball on the far side before curling in a wonderful effort into the top corner of Flakken’s goal to give Sheffield United a crucial lead just before half time.
Embed from Getty ImagesSecond half efforts for Slimane and Archer were kept out by Flakken; the former’s header saved at point blank range by the Dutch goalkeeper, but chances were few and far between for the visitors who have now lost four of their last five Premier League games.
For Sheffield United, they remain bottom of the table on eight points but after a promising display against Liverpool plus this hard-fought win, the atmosphere at Bramall Lane is a far cry from their awful 5-0 loss against Burnley.
