Sheffield United v West Bromwich Albion Live Commentary & Result, 02/02/2021, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	32	23	5	4	67	23	+44	74	L W W W L
2	MUN Manchester United	30	17	9	4	58	33	+25	60	W W W D D
3	LEI Leicester City	30	17	5	8	53	34	+19	56	L W W D L
4	CHE Chelsea	31	15	9	7	50	31	+19	54	W L D W W
5	LIV Liverpool	31	15	7	9	53	37	+16	52	W W W L L
6	WHU West Ham United	30	15	7	8	48	37	+11	52	W D L W L
7	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	30	14	7	9	51	32	+19	49	D W L W W
8	EVE Everton	29	14	5	10	41	38	+3	47	D L L W W
9	LEE Leeds United	31	14	3	14	49	49	0	45	W W W D L
10	AVL Aston Villa	30	13	5	12	43	33	+10	44	L W L D D
11	ARS Arsenal	30	12	6	12	40	35	+5	42	L D W D W
12	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	31	10	8	13	31	41	-10	38	W L L D L
13	CRY Crystal Palace	31	10	8	13	33	52	-19	38	L D W L D
14	SOU Southampton	30	10	6	14	39	53	-14	36	W L L W L
15	BRN Burnley	30	8	9	13	24	40	-16	33	L W D D L
16	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	30	7	11	12	33	38	-5	32	L W W L L
17	NEW Newcastle United	30	7	8	15	30	50	-20	29	D L D D D
18	FUL Fulham	32	5	11	16	24	42	-18	26	L L L L W
19	WBA West Bromwich Albion	30	4	9	17	25	59	-34	21	W L D L W
20	SHU Sheffield United	30	4	2	24	17	52	-35	14	L L L W L

That is all from this Premier League fixture, until next time!

Wilder's men remain 10 adrift of safety, however, they are likely to be inspired by their second-half comeback here. Up next for the Blades, they host Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, while West Brom, who remain in 19th, face the difficult task of an away trip to Tottenham.

United collect their second home win of the season! Robinson's first-half goal had initially put the visitors ahead going in at the break before the Blades responded in the second half. Bogle managed to smash in the equaliser before the hosts' captain Sharp popped up with a crucial, smart finish in the 73rd minute to secure his team the 2-1 win. They move just a point behind Allardyce's men, who rarely ventured forward after the half-time interval.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: SHEFFIELD UNITED 2-1 WEST BROM

Matheus Pereira

Yellow Card

90' + 3' Pereira gets shown the yellow card by referee Tierney for dissent and arguing with the officials.

90' + 2' Basham slices a clearance near the halfway line and it looks like Allardyce's side will have one final chance to attack. They duly oblige, launching everyone forward and winning a free-kick wide to the left, which Johnstone will come up to attack - nothing comes of it, however, as the hosts scramble clear.

90' + 1' There will be three minutes of added time as the hosts head towards a crucial three points. Bogle then throws himself to the floor, screaming in pain to get the referee's attentions and winning a free-kick for his side on the right-hand touchline.

89' O'Shea has another chance to launch in a long throw-in but manages to take a foul throw-in, meaning Ampadu can simply stroll across to the touchline, wasting vital seconds before getting play back underway.

88' Despite defending a one-goal advantage, Wilder has still left three strikers on the pitch, namely McBurnie, McGoldrick and Burke. The latter of the trio runs himself into the ground but still cannot stop the visitors from playing long up to Robson-Kanu.

O. Burke

B. Sharp

86' Sharp, whose smart finish could prove the difference here, comes off to be replaced by Burke up top.

85' The hosts drop far too deep and nearly get undone by a long cross into the box. Somehow they survive the initial cross, largely thanks to Egan and Basham, before Pereira carelessly whips the follow-up cross out of play.

D. McGoldrick

Yellow Card

84' O'Shea beats McGoldrick, who then hacks down the right-back to make sure he makes no further progress down the right. Just like moments earlier with Fleck's tackle, referee Tierney has no option but to book McGoldrick.

J. Fleck

Yellow Card

83' Fleck chops down Gallagher with a lunging tackle in the middle of the park to stop the midfielder's progress. Unsurprisingly for his tactical foul, the Scot becomes the first name in referee Tierney's book.

83' Pereira curls an inviting free-kick towards the back post, where Ajayi cannot get on the end of it. Bartley then seems the most likely to keep it in play before Lundstram does exceptionally well to shelter the ball out for a goal-kick to the hosts.

81' Ampadu gives it away and then tries to cynically foul Gallagher but fails before Fleck attempts the same and manages to bring down the Baggies' substitute.

80' Sharp receives possession up front and with nothing around him, still manages to play backwards to the safety of McGoldrick's feet. The hosts then work it out to the right, where they appear grateful to just take the throw-in and waste a bit of time.

78' OVER! Fleck again orchestrates all of the hosts' play, crossing towards the back post from wide on the left. Scorer of the Blades' first goal, Bogle, finds himself in the area but can only head just over the bar under the pressure of Ajayi.

77' Sharp has now scored four goals in his last five home games in all competitions. Prior to that, in his last 19 he had only scored twice at Bramall Lane. What a time for the Blades' captain to start finding some form for his side.

75' Amidst the chaos of Sharp's goal, it looks like Wilder has told Brewster to sit back down on the bench, allowing Sharp to carry on up top now he has grabbed what could prove to be the winning goal.

C. Gallagher

M. Phillips

74' Allardyce brings on midfielder Gallagher for winger Phillips, who put West Brom ahead in the first half.

B. Sharp

Goal

73' GOALLLL! 2-1 UNITED! Basham swerves one way then the other, delivering towards the front post. The initial cross gets flicked on, bounces off Egan and falls to Sharp, who pounces to poke in with the outside of his right foot into the bottom-left corner.

J. Egan

Assist

73' Egan is credited with the assist as the loose ball cannons off his shin and into the path of Sharp, who puts United 2-1 ahead.

73' Before the hosts can make their next change, Bogle cuts inside in search of his second goal, shooting with his left foot and seeing his effort get deflected behind for a corner on the left.

72' Ampadu regains possession inside his own half and it looks like Wilder is going to make his second change of the game in an attempt to chase what would be a vital winner.

70' Bogle releases Sharp, who looks for McBurnie at the front post. The substitute looks to have nipped in ahead of Bartley, however, the visitors' centre-back manages to get around and challenge before McBurnie can get his shot off.

69' Fleck has two attempts to cross with the latter effort finding Egan at the back post. The Blades' centre-back seems destined to head past Johnstone but Ajayi does well to recover, forcing Egan to head well wide from close range.

K. Ahearne-Grant

C. Robinson

68' Allardyce makes a double change, the second of which sees Grant replace Robinson, who had just been denied excellently by Ramsdale.

H. Robson-Kanu

M. Diagne

68' Loanee Diagne lasts 68 minutes before being brought off in a like-for-like swap with Robson-Kanu.

66' This game has opened up since Bogle's equaliser and the half-time introduction of McBurnie. Both sides now seem intent to attack, trading blows at either end with the Blades just edging the contest at the minute.

65' McGoldrick sees space open up in front of him but then unleashes a tame right-footed effort into the hands of Johnstone from around 25 yards out.

63' WHAT A STOP! Ramsdale pulls off a remarkable stop from close range to deny Robinson's left-footed effort. Initially, Phillips had drilled in from the right-hand side towards the back post, where Diagne and Robinson were queuing up to seemingly tap-in. Replays show the chance may not have stood either way due to offside.

62' Townsend is caught by Bogle's stray arm and after a bit of time on the floor, the left-back returns to his feet. O'Shea floats the resulting free-kick towards the area, however, McGoldrick climbs the highest to head away.

61' Bogle's goal has inspired the hosts, who are now moving the ball about with greater speed as they look to penetrate through West Brom's defensive lines. Fleck then delivers a set-piece from the right but, as is usually the case with Allardyce's men, they defend the corner with relative ease.

60' CHANCES! Fleck reaches the byline and pulls back to McBurnie, who cannot sort his feet out quickly enough inside the area and the Baggies intervene. The rebound then falls to Lundstram, who attempts to get it down on his right foot before his rushed effort gets blocked by a combination of Bartley and Ajayi.

58' The equaliser was Basham's second assist for United and also Bogle's second goal for the club, after last scoring away at Brighton and Hove Albion in December.

C. Basham

Assist

56' Basham claims the assist although he may not have known too much about it. Dancing one way then the other the centre-back managed to find Bogle, who pulls an important goal back for the hosts from inside the area.

J. Bogle

Goal

56' GOALLL! 1-1! Basham breaks into the area and hesitates, taking five or six touches before eventually being crowded out by the visitors’ defence. The loose ball then falls to Bogle, who swivels and hits it first time with his left foot into the right-hand corner. Johnstone does not see it through a crowd of bodies and therefore remains motionless as it travels past him.

55' Today marks 21 years and 80 days since Allardyce last won away at United in the league, winning 2-1 in November 1999 with Bolton Wanderers in the second tier. If his side can see out the next 35 minutes, Allardyce’s long wait to win at Bramall Lane will finally be over.

54' The Baggies are dropping deeper and deeper but still look fairly settled in their defensive efforts as United hover around the outside of their area, lacking any real invention to break down Allardyce's unit.

52' Diagne appeals for a penalty after a nudge from Ampadu, however, none of that matters as the assistant has his flag up for offside against the loanee forward.

51' McBurnie, McGoldrick and Fleck all look like they have shooting opportunities but on every occasion the Baggies crowd around the Blades' attackers to shelter them away from Johnstone's goal.

50' Townsend stutters and then crosses towards the back post with his left foot and Diagne looks set to win the initial header until Ramsdale comes out to take control of the situation, punching away to his right.

48' With McBurnie's half-time introduction, it looks like McGoldrick will drop slightly deeper to support Sharp and McBurnie up top. McBurnie nearly has an instant impact but his pass to Lundstram gets intercepted on the edge of the area before the midfielder can capitalise.

47' This is the first time West Brom have led at half-time in a Premier League game since November, which was also against the Blades.

46' Both sets of players are back on the pitch and referee Tierney gets this Premier League fixture back underway!

O. McBurnie

O. Norwood

46' Wilder wastes no time, throwing on striker McBurnie for midfield Norwood at half-time.

In what is perhaps one of the most important games in Wilder's reign, he will surely have to make changes to chase an equaliser and could look to the likes of Brewster or Burke off the bench to support Sharp and McGoldrick up top. Allardyce will simply be asking for more of the same from his men, who have defended resolutely and looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

A fairly bright start to the game saw chances fall to Robinson and McGoldrick before both sides seemed to cancel each other out. Wilder's side then started to get a grip of the fixture until Phillips scored with a tap-in in the 41st minute, meaning the Baggies go in 1-0 up at the break.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: SHEFFIELD UNITED 0-1 WEST BROM

45' + 1' Fleck goes in late on fellow Scot Snodgrass and is perhaps lucky to escape a booking for his sliding tackle in the middle of the park.

45' + 1' With Baldock's absence, it looks like Bogle has moved over to right wing-back and substitute Lowe will occupy the left wing-back role for Wilder's team.

45' Phillips is only the second Scottish player to score a Premier League goal for Allardyce, after Steven Fletcher (2 for Sunderland in 2015).

M. Lowe

G. Baldock

44' Baldock, who had just gone down with an injury to his hamstring, comes off and will be replaced by Lowe.

43' Baldock is down in the far corner, signalling a problem with his hamstring and the Blades' medical team rush on. It looks like this could be the last we see of the wing-back in this game, as he limps off to the right of the pitch.

42' That opener will hurt United, given their domination in the last five minutes or so. Wilder will surely be having words with Baldock, who needed to do better to stop Robinson from initially cutting inside and testing Ramsdale before Phillips' goal.

M. Phillips

Goal

41' GOALLL! 1-0 WEST BROM! Robinson cuts inside and forces Ramsdale to parry away to his left. The rebound falls to Diagne, whose shot gets deflected by Ramsdale and cleared off the line by Ampadu, before Phillips turns in the simplest of tap-ins from inside the six-yard area.

40' CHANCE! Fleck's initial corner is cleared but comes back to the Scot, who feeds Lundstram. The Blades' midfield then chips towards the back post, where Sharp beats his man in the air and heads just wide to the right of West Brom's goal.

39' A beautiful delivery by Fleck curves towards McGoldrick at the far post and it looks like the striker is going to test Johnstone until Townsend pulls off a remarkable clearance to hook out for a throw-in to the hosts.

38' Baldock finds himself in an unusual position inside the left-hand channel and wins a free-kick in a good position for the hosts, despite Snodgrass' best protestations with referee Tierney.

37' United have never lost a Premier League home game in February, winning four and drawing two of their six games. Only Bournemouth (8 in September) and Brighton (7 in October) have played more home games in a specific month without ever losing in the competition.

36' The hosts' third consecutive corner, this time taken by Fleck, is headed away by Bartley before Bogle rushes his pass towards Sharp and it races out for a goal-kick.

36' Norwood whips in the inswinging corner to the near post, where Johnstone is alert to the danger as he comes to punch out for another corner. Norwood repeats the same delivery and on this occasion, West Brom's goalkeeper tips it out for a corner on the other side.

35' Great exchanges between Fleck and McGoldrick result in the former winning a corner for his side on the left-hand side, with O'Shea coming across to concede the set-piece.

33' Baldock pounces on Robinson's poor touch, racing into the area and throwing himself to the floor. The right wing-back then has no complaints as referee Tierney insists play goes on, suggesting Robinson did in fact get a toe on the ball when challenging the Blades' wing-back.

32' Bartley ends up with a hand around the shoulder of Sharp and concedes an easily avoidable free-kick inside the hosts' half. As has been the case all game, Wilder's men play sidewards, still appearing content to remain patient in search of an opener as they slowly look to move the ball forward.

30' Bogle has a few choice words for referee Tierney after he awards the away side a goal-kick as opposed to a corner for the hosts in the left-hand corner. Nevertheless, Johnstone fires the goal-kick forward in search of Diagne, who has rarely been involved so far.

28' After a quick start to this game, with both Robinson and McGoldrick going close for their respective sides, it has slowed down with neither side creating much or looking threatening in the last 10 minutes or so. Allardyce's team look the more likely to create something, albeit their best outlet seems to be O'Shea's long throw-ins at the minute.

26' Ampadu fires the perfect diagonal pass to the feet of Baldock, who is then dispossessed by Robinson doing his defensive duties. The away side then give away the ball again, as they continue to struggle to string together three or four passes with one another in midfield.

24' Bogle is forced into conceding a throw-in on the left, due to Livermore's persistence to regain possession. O'Shea arrows another long throw into the area but Ajayi needlessly fouls Ampadu to give away a free-kick.

22' United have earned fewer home points than any other side in the Premier League this season (4 – W1 D1 L8); indeed, four points is the fewest by a side after their first 10 home games of a Premier League campaign since Bolton in 2011-12 (also four).

20' Norwood and Fleck seem to have acres of space in midfield as Allardyce's men sit deep and invite their hosts to attack. As of yet, the Blades have failed to make the possession count but they remain patient on the ball, working from side to side before looking for Baldock on the right.

18' O'Shea sends in a teasing cross towards the back post, nearly finding loanee Diagne, who joined from Galatasaray last week. The right-back's cross ends up being slightly too long and rolls out for a goal-kick to the right of Ramsdale's net.

17' After winning the free-kick, Fleck delivers to the far post, where the visitors head behind for the hosts' first corner of the game. Fleck again takes the set-piece but Bartley towers above everyone at the front post to head away.

16' Fleck gets stuck between Livermore and O'Shea, falling to the floor and convincing referee Tierney to give the hosts a free-kick in a decent position wide on the left, which Fleck will take.

14' SAVE! McGoldrick goes past three players through the middle of the park, eventually reaching the edge of the area, where he unleashes a left-footed shot low to Johnston's right. The Baggies' goalkeeper sees it all the way, as he dives down on the chance to make a fairly routine save.

13' Bogle exchanges a one-two with Fleck, reaching the opposition's byline before being crowded out by three of the away side. However, for his hard work down the left-hand side, he wins a throw-in deep inside the visitors' half.

12' In the last 18 Premier League matches between the sides starting the day in the bottom two, the away team have won just once - Watford away at Norwich in November 2019.

11' CLOSE! The Baggies go down the other end through Robinson and have a chance of their own. Robinson ignores the passing option of Diagne, moving to the left of goal before dragging a shot across towards the far post. Unfortunately for the away side, his strike trickles just wide of the right-hand post and out for a goal-kick.

10' WIDE! After some deliberation with Lundstram, Norwood steps up to the set-piece and whips it wide to the right of Johnstone's goal. The midfielder will be perhaps disappointed with his efforts there, given the quality he usually possesses from set-piece situations.

9' Bogle spins outside the visitors' area and O'Shea needlessly brings the left wing-back down, offering the hosts a free-kick in a great, central position.

8' Diagne wins a smart header inside the centre circle, which plays in Robinson, who finds Pereira. The Baggies man then runs at Basham, dancing one way then the other before the Blades' centre-back does incredibly well to win possession back inside his own area.

6' Allardyce's side commit men forward in numbers, however, Pereira's cross fails to beat the first defender, allowing the home side to clear. Ajayi then attempts to release Livermore but his pass is far too strong and travels quickly towards Ramsdale.

4' Ampadu goes in search of Bogle wide on the left but, unsurprisingly, due to the snowy conditions the centre-back's pass races out of play and for a goal-kick, which Johnstone pumps long.

3' An early set-piece opportunity is played short by the visitors and, after some scrambling around the area, Robinson wins the first corner of this fixture on the left-hand side, courtesy of a deflection off McGoldrick.

2' The Baggies win the first throw-in of the game and immediately send both centre-backs forward to challenge aerially. Basham and Egan stand firm, with the latter clearing down the right-hand side under the pressure of Phillips.

1' Referee Paul Tierney blows his whistle and the away side get this Premier League fixture underway!

The players are making their way out on to the Bramall Lane turf and shortly it will be time for kick-off.

The visitors are looking to complete the league double over the Blades for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign, winning 4-2 at Bramall Lane that season.

Sam Allardyce reverts back to 4-4-1-1 after an unsuccessful attempt at using a three-man defence against Fulham. In total, the Baggies make three changes as Gibbs, Furlong and Gallagher are replaced by Phillips, Diagne and Townsend, who makes his first appearance since November.

Wilder makes two changes from the Blades’ eighth 1-0 loss of the season against Manchester City. The experience of McGoldrick and Sharp are preferred up top, with Brewster and Burke dropping to the bench.

SUBS: Darnell Furlong, Branislav Ivanovic, Karlan Grant, Conor Gallagher, David Button, Kieran Gibbs, Romaine Sawyers, Hal Robson-Kanu, Lee Peltier.

WEST BROM (4-4-1-1): Sam Johnstone; Dara O’Shea, Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley, Conor Townsend; Matheus Pereira, Robert Snodgrass, Jake Livermore, Matt Phillips; Callum Robinson; Mbaye Diagne.

SUBS: Rhian Brewster, Oliver Burke, Iliman Ndiaye, Kean Bryan, Zak Brunt, Wes Foderingham, Oliver McBurnie, Phil Jagielka, Max Lowe.

SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Aaron Ramsdale; Chris Basham, Ethan Ampadu, John Egan; Jayden Bogle, George Baldock, John Lundstram, Oliver Norwood, John Fleck; Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick.

After spirited away performances at both Manchester United and Manchester City, Chris Wilder’s team host West Brom, who are also struggling at the bottom of the table. The Baggies, despite only being a place above the Blades, are four points clear of their hosts and most recently drew 2-2 with Fulham.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League fixture between Sheffield United and West Brom at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United v West Bromwich Albion Live Commentary, 02/02/2021

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