Match report
Here’s a breathless, smiling Patrick Bamford
“That was a tough game. It’s important we got a clean sheet, but they made us work for it. The way they play, it’s very hard to press like we want to press - they’re very well drilled.
“The goal came off my nose but I’ll take it! I was a bit disappointed not to score the header in the first half. Before the game I said to Jack, ‘Every time you get the ball I’m going between the middle centre-back and the left centre-back, so put the ball there’, and that’s what he did for the goal. Fair play to him for putting it on the money.
“I’m not surprised Illan Meslier was man of the match. Every shot he saved, their players were like, ‘Who is this guy?!’ He’s a brilliant keeper. He’s only young and he’s growing with each game. He deserves all the plaudits.”
Full time: Sheffield United 0-1 Leeds
Peep peep! Leeds win away in the Premier League for the first time since April 2004. It was an energetic, uncompromising contest, settled by Patrick Bamford’s late header. Both keepers had fine games, with Leeds’ Illan Meslier making one outstanding save from John Lundstram in the first half.
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90+3 min Osborn plays a nice one-two with Basham in the area but his cross is too close to Meslier.
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90+1 min Five minutes of added time.
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90+1 min The substitute Rodrigo is replaced by Ezgjan Alioski. He doesn’t look injured, so it must be that Bielsa wants more defensive protection.
90 min A draw would be a fair result, I’d say, but as it stands Sheffield United have no points and no goals this season. And their next game is away to Arsenal.
Rodrigo turned smartly on the edge of the area and found Harrison on the left. He curled in another delicious cross towards the far post, and this time Bamford was able to hang in the air long enough to head the ball back across Ramsdale and into the net. It was a fairly soft, downward header, but once he wrongfooted Ramsdale he was always going to score. It’s his third goal in as many Premier League games.
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GOAL! Sheffield United 0-1 Leeds (Bamford 88)
Leeds have snatched it!
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86 min At the other end, Sharp’s deflected shot drifts through to Meslier.
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86 min Dallas’s fierce long-range shot bounces awkwardly in front of Ramsdale, who holds on well.
86 min After a tedious first quarter, this has been one of the better 0-0 draws.
84 min Brave keeping from Meslier, who dives at the feet of the sliding Baldock, knowing he’s going to take a boot in the chest. Baldock has come off worse from the collision; there’s a break in play while he receives treatment. When he gets to his feet he apologies to Meslier, whose facial expression suggests forgiveness is an ongoing process.
82 min Although Robinson saw that late, because it looked like McBurnie was going to head it, he was only six yards out and should probably have scored.
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81 min: So close for Sheffield United! Osborn’s wicked corner is missed by the flying McBurnie and volleyed this far wide of the far post by Robinson.
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81 min Baldock cuts across the edge of the area and hits a left-footed shot that deflects wide off Phillips. Leeds thought Ayling was fouled by Berge just before that.
78 min Leeds break from a Sheffield United corner. Poveda dances infield, ignores the reverse pass to Bamford and drives a rising shot from 20 yards that is flapped away by Ramsdale. Poveda has looked lively since coming on, if a wee bit selfish.
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75 min Poveda has a shot blocked by Stevens after a good Leeds break.
74 min A double substitution up front for Sheffield United. Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie replace David McGoldrick and Oli Burke.
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73 min Rodrigo curls straight at Ramsdale from the edge of the area.
73 min Harrison runs at Baldock on the left and flips a beautiful cross that just clears the leaping Bamford at the near post.
71 min Ampadu is back on his feet now.
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70 min Play was stopped as soon as Ampadu fell. He’s still lying face down, though none of the players seem particularly worried.
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69 min Sheffield United break and Osborn’s shot is blocked by Cooper. Leeds go back down the other end and Rodrigo flattens Ampadu with a curling shot that hits him in the face.
68 min Ayling plays an excellent pass inside Stevens to release Poveda, whose cutback is cleared at the near post.
67 min Baldock is booked for a foul on Dallas, though it looked like a clean tackle.
66 min Leeds bring on Ian Poveda for Helder Costa, who had a quiet game.
66 min Dallas’s sharp cross from the left is headed well wide at the near post by Rodrigo.
64 min A Sheffield United change: Oliver Norwood replaces John Lundstram.
61 min: Basham clears off the line! Dallas ran onto a long ball, went round the outrushing Ramsdale and dragged a right-footed shot towards goal. There wasn’t enough pace on it, though, and Basham calmly ran round the ball to clear with his right foot.
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59 min Stevens’ long-range shot is pushed away by Meslier, falling to his left. It was a comfortable save but the build-up - a series of short first-time passes on the right - was lovely.
58 min Baldock’s nice backheel releases Basham, whose cutback is very well blocked at the near post by Ayling. Moments later Lundstram is booked for a brazen tactical foul on Dallas.
56 min: Good save from Ramsdale. Phillips won the ball 25 yards from goal and found Bamford. He dragged the ball nicely away from Robinson, into the area, but by the time he was in a position to shoot the angle was tight. Ramsdale, well positioned, pushed the shot round the near post for a corner.
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55 min Klich’s low cross is claimed by Ramsdale. He was on the floor moments earlier, rolling round after a challenge from Robinson.
51 min Dallas’s floated pass towards Costa is headed behind by the diligent Stevens. Phillips’ corner goes out of play before curling back onto the field.
48 min “If anything,” says Ian Copestake, “these managers seem to be tacticking too well.”
47 min Phillips corner is half cleared to the edge of the area, where Helder Costa waits for the ball to drop and swishes a lovely left-footed volley towards goal. Ramsdale gets down smartly to his left to push it behind.
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46 min Leeds appeal for a penalty when Harrison’s cross hits Basham. No dice.
46 min Peep peep! Leeds begin the second half.
Leeds have made a half-time substitution: Rodrigo replaces Tyler Roberts up front.
Half-time reading
Half time: Sheffield United 0-0 Leeds United
Peep peep! That was a surprisingly subdued 45 minutes, though it did liven up towards half-time. Leeds dominated possession but Illan Meslier had the more difficult work to make, including one stunning reaction save from John Lundstram. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
44 min Burke does well to charge at the Leeds defence, across the line of the penalty area. But instead of finding the unmarked McGoldrick to his right he hits a shot that is blocked. That was the wrong option.
43 min “In honour of this meeting of strategic superbrains, please allow me to present my all time Tactics XI,” says Mac Millings. “It’s a state-of-the art, hyper-attacking line-up. Barmby is nominally between the sticks, but I’ve got him playing as an overlapping goalie.
- Strategio van Bronckhorst
- Mel Formachin
- Protocolin Bell
- Johnny Method
- Techniquey Barmby
- Manoeuvre Rösler
- Trickie Lambert
- Nigel Stratjemson
- Dominic Calvert-Lewingback
- Planny Welbeck
- False Nayim.”
False Nayim at No11? The overlapping goalkeeper wearing No5? You are the ultimate tactical maverick.
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41 min Sheffield United appeal for a penalty when Ampadu goes over at the corner. Dallas did put hands on him, but VAR have decided - rightly, I think - that it wasn’t a clear and obvious error. It looked like Ampadu was going to have a clear header at goal but then the ball dipped under him as he fell forward.
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40 min: Good save from Meslier! Osborn plays a little pass to Baldock, who rolls Harison smartly on the edge of the area and blasts a rising drive that is pushed over at the near post by Meslier. That’s another excellent reaction save.
39 min “As a neutral, I would really like to see Bamford do well,” says Matt Dony. “He seems like a nice guy, but one of those footballers whose true level falls somewhere between the Championship and the Premier League. And, as a Welshman, I love watching Ampadu play. He’s enormously talented, a very watchable player, but (for a number of reasons) has yet to establish enough consistency.”
I’m fascinated by those mezzanine footballers. Was it Neil Redfearn who kept getting relegated from the Premier League and then bought by a promoted club?
38 min The corner is headed wide by the under-pressure Cooper.
38 min: Good save from Ramsdale! Dallas plays a neat one-two with Phillips and rakes a lofted shot from the edge of the area that is pushed behind by the flying Ramsdale. That was a really good save.
35 min Burke loses Ayling on the left side of the area and hits a shot that is blocked by the sliding Cooper. Every time something that happens, you half expect a penalty to be given for handball. McGoldrick then shoots over from the edge of the box.
33 min Right, I’ve decided Leeds are playing a 3-2-3-2: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper; Phillips, Dallas; Costa, Klich, Harrison; Roberts, Bamford.
31 min Harrison’s curling cross is headed onto the roof of the net by Bamford. It was a fairly difficult chance as he was backpedalling slightly, 12 yards from goal, and had to really strain his neck muscles to generate any power.
31 min I’ll level with you, I haven’t a clue what formation Leeds are playing. They are all moving around so much, Dallas in particular, that the shape looks different every time they attack.
29 min: Brilliant save from Meslier! That was the best chance of the match. Osborn’s low cross from the left was flicked by McGoldrick into the path of Lundstram, arriving late in the box. He roared onto the ball and slammed a low shot that was superbly tipped round by Meslier, who had to change direction and dive low to his right.
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27 min Klich’s long-range shot deflects through to Ramsdale.
27 min I’d completely failed to notice that Leeds are playing with a back three of Ayling, Koch and Cooper. Dallas is in midfield in what looks like a 3-1-4-2. Or is it a 3-2-3-2.
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26 min Phillips’ dipping free-kick from the right is headed over by the leaping Bamford. He couldn’t quite get over the ball.
22 min Some action! Burke does well to keep the ball in play and find Osborn, whose dangerous cross is cleared at the far post by Harrison.
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22 min Sheffield United look low on confidence going forward, which I suppose is unsurprising given their recent form.
18 min Leeds are still dominating possession. Burke looks quite lively on the break for Sheffield United, but that’s about it.
15 min It’s all been a bit tame so far. No goals, no strong tackles, no 21-man punch-ups.
13 min Klich’s through ball towards Bamford is intercepted by Ampadu. Leeds are probing incessantly.
11 min Leeds have had 65 per cent of the possession so far.
7 min Phillips was booked for fouling McGoldrick in the build up to that Lundstram shot.
6 min Sheffield United’s first good attack. Burke plays a nice disguised pass down the inside-left channel to Lundstram, who sweeps a first-time shot wide of the far post.
4 min Ayling surges forward from right-back, twists Osborn inside out and hits a fierce shot from 20 yards is pushed away by the diving Ramsdale. A good save, though one he’d expect to make. Leeds have made a very fast start.
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3 min Lovely play from Leeds. Bamford, on the halfway line, lays the ball off neatly to Klich, who curls a beautiful long pass inside Baldock to find Harrison on the left side of the box. He decides not to shoot and cuts the ball back towards the penalty spot, where it’s cleared by Basham. Harrison took the wrong option but the build-up was superb.
1 min Peep peep! Sheffield United kick off from right to left on a windy afternoon at Bramall Lane. They are wearing red and white stripes; Leeds are in green and dark blue stripes.
The players are ready. As a neutral, I cannot wait for this.
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“I find the Bielsa nickname of ‘El Loco’ disappointingly unimaginative,” says Ian Copestake, “and wish he could be reanointed as ‘Bob’. This would allow him to be referred to devilishly as Bielsa Bob.”
It would ruin that episode of Blackadder though.
Ethan Ampadu replaces suspended Jack Egan in the Sheffield United defence, and Tyler Roberts comes in for the injured Pablo Hernandez in the Leeds midfield.
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Team news
Sheffield United (3-5-2) Ramsdale; Basham, Ampadu, Robinson; Baldock, Lundstram, Berge, Osborn, Stevens; Burke, McGoldrick.
Substitutes: Foderingham, Jagielka, Lowe, Fleck, Norwood, Sharp, McBurnie.
Leeds (4-1-4-1) Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas; Phillips; Costa,Roberts, Klich, Harrison; Bamford.
Substitutes: Caprile, Struijk, Alioski, Davis, Shackleton, Poveda, Rodrigo.
Referee Paul Tierney.
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Pre-match reading
I’ve seen a few excerpts from Paddy Kenny’s book, including a great story about Branislav Ivanovic having two QPR players in a simultaneous headlock during a tunnel ruck, and it looks highly entertaining.
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Preamble
Morning. We’ve missed the fans at every single game since lockdown, but we’ll really miss them today. Bramall Lane would have been a crucible of ferocity for the visit of Leeds. This is the first Yorkshire derby in the Premier League since 2001, and the first between these sides since March 1994, a time when Doop by Doop was giving us all an unwelcome earworm.
There is added fascination today because of the contest between two of the Premier League’s most free-thinking managers, Chris Wilder and Marcelo Bielsa, and because Sheffield United pipped Leeds to promotion 17 months ago. Leeds made it at the next attempt, and so far they have exceeded the stratospheric expectations with two wildly entertaining 4-3s - a defeat at Anfield and a win against Fulham.
United have started with two defeats, though they were a bit unfortunate at Aston Villa on Monday when John Egan was absurdly sent off in the first half. They need points today to get their season up and running. But most of all they need them because they’re playing Leeds.
Kick off 12pm.
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