Sheffield United clinched their first Premier League match at Bramall Lane in twelve years with a challenging win against Crystal Palace.
Motivated by a dedicated home crowd which has stayed with the team when they were not able to perform as well they would have liked, the team led by Chris Wilder added crucial points against their name in the points tally, courtesy John Lundstram’s early second-half goal.
Many are predicting that this season Sheffield United will get relegated. However, the team showed on Sunday that they mean business here in the Premier League and they did that against a team which is known to perform well in away matches. Notably, Crystal Palace had earned more points in away matches than at Selhurst Park, their home ground last season.
Sheffield United should have taken the lead in the first half itself when David McGoldrick’s shot on target was saved by Vicente Guaita. However, Lundstram who was responsible for creating that missed chance gave them the lead in the second half.
A Palace side had very little going their way as their striker, Wilfried Zaha, who was starting in his first match of the season, was never left unguarded by the Sheffield United defence.
The victory will be a huge confidence booster for Chris Wilder, who eventually emerged as the better manager outwitting Palace manager Roy Hodgson with a 3-5-2 formation.
Wilder, who is a former Sheffield player himself, said he would not go on to compromise his style of managing a team while trying to keep his side in the top flight. If Sheffield continue to produce performances like this, chances are that coach might not be asked to compromise either.