Sheffield United vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Bramall LaneAttendance28,638.
Report and free match highlights as Chelsea suffer stoppage-time heartbreak after their momentous comeback win over Man Utd; Noni Madueke and Thiago Silva score on their return from the start; Jayden Bogle and Oli McBurnie with the goals for Sheffield United
Sunday 7 April 2024 23:47, UK
Oli McBurnie's stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point for Sheffield United in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea as Mauricio Pochettino's side missed the chance to move to within three points of Manchester United.
Noni Madueke's second-half strike, his first league goal in 2024, appeared to be sending Chelsea to another victory after their momentous comeback over Manchester United until McBurnie popped up in the final moments to salvage a point.
Thiago Silva had given Chelsea an early lead from a corner after Sheffield United were caught sleeping before Jayden Bogle equalised after half an hour with the help of Dorde Petrovic's error. The hosts were in charge after that until Madueke's goal.
A point is not enough for Sheffield United, who had enough chances to win the game. They remain rooted to the bottom of the table and still nine points from safety with seven games to go.
Chelsea, meanwhile, take two steps back after appearing to turn a corner at Stamford Bridge in their last game. They could have fallen victim to the same fate had their opponents been more efficient late on. Pochettino's side are five points off sixth.
Asked to explain the draws against Sheffield United and Burnley either side of the win over United, Pochettino said: "It is about being able to compete. For different reasons we are struggling to compete in these type of games [against lesser teams]."
Pochettino refused to accept fatigue as an excuse for Chelsea's failure to claim their first back-to-back league wins of 2024, adding: "Watching football at 52 years old, you identify very quick when the team is ready to compete.
"Maybe [it is] because this group is not mature enough to compete in games every three days."
Chelsea's extraordinary stoppage-time comeback win against on Thursday was heralded as a pivotal moment for Pochettino, who finally broke down some barriers with supporters amid the wild celebrations.
Although the atmosphere was far more subdued at Bramall Lane, Chelsea kept up their momentum as Silva guided in Conor Gallagher's corner after 10 minutes completely unmarked. It's the type of error Sheffield United can't afford to make in their predicament.
The hosts stuck in the game, though, and were nearly handed an equaliser by Chelsea's goalscorer. Silva's blind backpass was picked off by McBurnie, who laid the ball off to Ben Brereton Diaz, but he was unable to make the most of the chance.
Sheffield United were winning the midfield battle despite two of the Chelsea contingent costing north of £100m. Nineteen-year-old Ollie Arblaster's composure in possession belied his age, but it was the magic of Gustavo Hamer that ultimately unlocked Chelsea.
His perfectly weighted pass through the legs of Moises Caicedo found Bogle toward the byline and the Sheffield United wing-back saw a chance to shoot from the angle, with Petrovic more concerned about a potential cut-back. His error allowed the equaliser.
For all the progress Chelsea made on Thursday, the fragility of the past two seasons came to the fore as Sheffield United brought the game to them. After the break, it was the hosts that felt more likely as they wrestled back control.
McBurnie flashed a header wide from Brereton Diaz's cross, while Hamer came close with a thumping effort that hit the side netting. Despite being in the ascendancy, Sheffield United's issues with discipline cropped up again but the officials showed them some leniency.
Jack Robinson was fortunate not to receive a red card for clattering Cole Palmer. Referee Robert Jones cautioned the wild challenge and VAR saw no reason to step in. Anel Ahmedhodzic then lunged in on Jackson but avoided a caution.
The lull in focus from Sheffield United was capitalised on by Madueke, making the most of a rare start in the Premier League by striking Chelsea back in front. His intervention was timely, with Chelsea far from convincing.
There weren't too many home fans leaving early as their side pushed for a late goal. McBurnie ensured their faith was rewarded as he equalised three minutes into added time. Far from being satisfied, the hosts pushed for a winner.
Had it not been for the hesitance of substitute James McAtee on the break, Sheffield United could have had one last chance. It would have been the most incredible Premier League comeback since Thursday.
Ultimately a point, while impressive for the Blades against this opposition, doesn't do enough to help Wilder's side in their fight for survival. For Chelsea, it suggests that Thursday was more false dawn than new dawn.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino:
"If we analyse after the game then a draw was fair for both teams. In the Premier League you need to try to play well and also control games.
"All the teams in the Premier League are good. Today we conceded in the last few minutes. We feel really bad in the way we conceded but we need to keep moving.
"We need to be more clinical. The team is scoring a lot of goals but we are conceding too much. We need to find this balance. At the moment we can't get the right balance of scoring goals and conceding less. We are struggling in this thing and it is something we need to improve if we want to be in a different position in the table."
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder:
"I think it was a deserved result. Second half was really good, but I am disappointed in the first goal as we all look at set plays up and down the country and we all know how important they are - it is disappointing to get done again.
"First 15 minutes I didn't like our performance, after that I liked our performance - full of personality.
"I would have been devastated if we didn't get a result out of that game.
"I am looking at our individual team performance, we were really good against some big players and collectively we were the better team.
"We have talked about it after the Liverpool game and we went deep into that game. We had two good performances against Fulham and Bournemouth, we deserved a better points return.
"We all know the intensity of the division and we move onto Brentford next week - belief will hopefully be good, they have shown a lot of qualities.
"There is a load of games left and we approach the next game as the most important and see if we can go get a result.
"The performance of the players ignited the crowd and the crowd lifted the players when it was needed."
Sheffield United are back in Premier League action on Saturday as they travel to Brentford; kick-off 3pm.
Everton return to Sky Sports on April 15, taking on Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday Night Football; kick-off 8pm.
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