Sheffield United convincingly beat Leicester 3-1 to open up an eight-point gap between them and the relegation zone.

The Blades dominated the Foxes throughout the 90 minutes and took the lead through Japhet Tanganga, who headed in a corner just after half an hour.

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After half-time, it was a familiar face for Leicester who doubled the advantage after Tom Cannon tucked home a finish after good work from man-of-the-match Andre Brooks.

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It was three before second-half stoppage time as Callum O'Hare slid home for a third goal - which ended up being important as Jordan James pulled one back for Leicester via a deflected strike from distance.

The Blades continue their fine form by moving up to 15th place in the Championship - two points and places behind Leicester, who remain inconsistent under Marti Cifuentes.

The first half was totally dominated by the hosts, with Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks getting a lot of joy down the right hand side.

First, Brooks' cross was met by Patrick Bamford but his volley was comfortably saved. Brooks linked up with Bamford once more but Jakub Stolarczyk was there to stop him.

Sam McCallum's cross was teasing and O'Hare very nearly got his head to it but he could not quite stretch far enough.

The hosts took the lead in the 36th minute. McCallum's corner from the right was met by captain Tanganga and his header flew straight past keeper Stolarczyk, as he became the latest Blades defender to get his first goal for the club from a corner.

Brooks finally got the reward his good play deserved when he assisted Cannon in the 52nd minute. He burst down the right and set up the striker perfectly, who now has two goals against former clubs in his last two games.

Leicester finally started to make some progress in United's half around the hour mark; first Ben Nelson's shot flew just over the bar and then Abdul Fatawu curled an effort from range just wide.

At the other end, Djibril Soumare curled an effort from distance just wide.

Seriki also deserved an assist and he got one, running to the touchline and squaring to O'Hare, who was there to tap in and make the points safe in the 88th minute.

The visitors did manage to grab a consolation goal two minutes into added time; Jordan James' deflected effort from distance finding its way past keeper Michael Cooper and into the bottom corner.

The managers

Sheffield United's Chris Wilder:

"We were outstanding form the off. Intensity levels, we competed. They have arguably the best players and the strongest squad in the division but we didn't allow them to get anything on us. Out of possession and in possession, I'm delighted with the boys.

"We looked at signing Bamford when we took over the group, we lost a lot of characters over the summer - some big players off the pitch as well as on it. To bring in Pat to the group - and Jairo has done outstandingly well, plus Ben Mee and Danny Ings - you need those guys to challenge each other.

"He's a complete No 9, he's enjoying his time here. I'd like to keep him. I'm banging on about it to above. He's found a place where he can enjoy his football and he's contributed to seven wins out of 10.

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves at all. That's key. There's a lot of work being put into the group. We're getting there and slowly but surely, there are little reminders that if you don't play with hat intensity and drive, you get hurt in this division. I've just said to the players, there's no point turning up against Stoke or tonight in front of the cameras if we don't turn up against Oxford."

Leicester's Marti Cifuentes:

"There are certain things that I can share with the fans, and some things I cannot. What I can say to the fans is that I'm sorry that we're in this difficult moment. We need to stick together.

"After the game, I understand that they want to show their frustration. For us, it's difficult during the game that there is that atmosphere. I understand the frustration, it's completely fair.

"It was disappointing as we wanted to start the New Year well. What happened today is that we played against a team that showed more capacity to win duels. They definitely managed to get more momentum. The three goals are individual mistakes that cost us. It's a good performance. You don't need to concede two goals to show up."

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