Manchester United suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Sheffield United, the bottom side of the Premier League,
to leave Manchester City at the top.
Substitute Oliver Burke snatched the winner in the 74th minute after Harry Maguire canceled Ken Bryan’s
first-half lead for the away side, who had only scored their second league victory this season.
City are top with 41 points, one more than United, who played one more game than their neighbors.
Coach Chris Wilder’s side entered the match with the worst record in Premier League history after 19 games and
had not won at Old Trafford in 48 years.
But led by defender Phil Jagielka, aged 38, the team showed determination and struggle to break the deadlock.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferred to change his line-up, leaving Fred and Scott McTominay out of the starting line-up,
which affected United’s lacking style and pressure as the midfield duo offered.
Sheffield, who now has eight points, took the lead in the 23rd minute when Brian diverted John Flick’s pass from
a corner kick with a header that United keeper David de Gea failed to clear, and TV replays showed he might
have been pushed by Sheffield striker Billy Sharp.
The decision increased United’s anger after Anthony Martial put the ball into the net, but the referee called a foul
against Maguire after interfering with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Coach Solskjaer’s team lacked the defensive strength and creativity in attack, as happened in the past period,
but equalized when captain Maguire, born in Sheffield, converted Alex Telles corner kick with a powerful header
into the net.
United paid the price for the defensive hesitation as Burke hit a low shot that slammed into Axel Tuanzebi and
down the bar into the goal.
Burke was delighted that his team had achieved their first victory at Old Trafford since 1973.
“An amazing result, there was no substitute for the victory today, really and I am happy for the players, they gave
a great performance. It is a great feeling and it is amazing for me to score the winning goal. I am happy for
the players and I hope to benefit from that in our next matches.”
“We showed courage and determination. We showed our character and did not give up. We played well in many
matches but we were not winning.”
