10 man Sheffield United was defeated 5-0 at home by Brighton, bolstering their ambitions of finishing in the top six of the Premier League.
The Seagulls won their second game at Bramall Lane in three weeks thanks to goals from Facundo Buonanotte, Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra, and an own goal by Jack Robinson. Last month, they thrashed the FA Cup in the fourth round 5-2.
A fortnight ago, the Blades fell 5-0 to Aston Villa as well. Since then, they have lost three straight home games, including the cup loss to the Seagulls, and Mason Holgate’s red card in the 13th minute made their task simpler.
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Roberto De Zerbi’s team looked strong as their European campaign shortly resumes, keeping the pressure on sixth-placed Manchester United by putting the 10 men to the sword.
United had momentarily raised hopes of making a spectacular comeback after winning at Luton the previous weekend, but now they are in serious trouble and, seven points outside of safety, a return to the Championship is all but probable.
For the most part, they fought hard, but three goals in the final fifteen minutes gave the score a negative slant.
The Seagulls made hay in the FA Cup just 22 days ago when they visited South Yorkshire and had fun once more.
Before Holgate’s bold, thigh-high challenge on Kaoru Mitoma in the thirteenth minute turned the game around, it had been open. Referee Stuart Atwell originally issued a yellow card, but he soon upgraded after VAR instructed him to review the play.
Seven minutes later, when Blades keeper Wes Foderingham was taunted on the goalline, Buonanotte converted from close range to give the Seagulls the lead.
Gus Hamer’s deflected shot at the end of his jinking run, which saw him beat three men, nearly levelled the score for the hosts right away.
But Brighton’s second goal gave them the upper hand, and that was as good as it got for the Blades.
At the far post, Mitoma pushed Foderingham into a wonderful save, but Welbeck was there to hammer home the rebound from eight yards out.
Robinson quickly blocked shots from Mitoma and Pascal Gross, stopping it from going to three.
At the start of the half, United believed they had tied the score when Ben Osborn poked in a close-range goal.
When Atwell was told by VAR to go to the monitor, Blades’ hopes were buoyed even though Atwell promptly ruled it out for a foul.
Replays revealed that Osborn was actually in an offside call, hence the goal was declared invalid.
Despite their best efforts in the second half, Brighton ultimately prevailed, scoring three goals in the last fifteen minutes to put the Blades to the test.
Their third goal came in the 75th minute when Robinson, a Blades defender, misdirected Mitoma’s cross into his own goal.
Adingra then added a second goal with a shot that ricocheted off Andre Brooks three minutes after Adingra had swept home Gross’ centre to make it four.
