Sheffield United moved into sixth place in the Premier League with an impressive victory over Burnley at Bramall Lane.
All of the Blades’ goals came before half-time, with John Lundstram scoring twice.
Lys Mousset assisted all three goals, with Lundstram’s second followed by John Fleck’s first of the season just 90 seconds later.
Burnley’s claims for a VAR penalty for handball by Jack O’Connell when 1-0 down were refused as United kept their fifth clean sheet of the season.
Lundstram had several chances to complete his hat-trick in the second half, going closest when forcing Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope into a good save.
Pope also denied substitute Billy Sharp with his feet, while Burnley failed to have a shot on target and slip down the table into 14th place.
United’s impressive return to the top flight just keeps on going, with their fourth game unbeaten and their biggest win of the season to date.
Their only loss in their last six outings in the league was a somewhat unlucky 1-0 defeat by leaders Liverpool, while against Burnley they were rarely troubled and out of sight by half-time.
Wilder’s approach has won praise, and both of Lundstram’s goals came at the end of slick moves that swept down the left flank.
Low crosses from David McGoldrick and Enda Stevens received subtle touches in the middle from Mousset, setting up Lundstram for shots that the 25-year-old midfielder tucked away with confidence.
And Mousset worked hard to give Fleck his chance, quickly latching on to a mistake by James Tarkowski near halfway.
The forthcoming meetings with Tottenham and Manchester United may have looked formidable when the fixture list was announced, but thanks to some outstanding displays the south Yorkshire club are looking down on both of their next two opponents.
The Clarets’ first top-flight visit to Bramall Lane since 1975 ended badly, but the opening exchanges were end-to-end and there were claims for an early penalty when Jay Rodriguez tangled with O’Connell.
Hindsight makes the VAR penalty decision look like a turning point, but loose defending by Dyche’s side twice inside two minutes just before the break gave them too much to do in the second half.
Dyche’s Burnley has had a hard-to-beat reputation in recent seasons but now they are conceding goals at a worrying rate.
Three consecutive defeats have seen nine goals go in, doubling the ‘goals against’ column from their previous eight outings this season.
The lack of efforts on target will also be a concern to Dyche, who will be hoping that striker Chris Wood gets over his hamstring injury soon.
The New Zealander scored four goals in his last four appearances, and while this was only the second time Burnley have drawn a blank this season, they cannot afford their toothlessness to become a habit.
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Source – BBC
