Sheffield Utd 1-2 Leicester 
by Harry De Cosemo 
at Bramall Lane

CLASS told at Bramall Lane in the end, as Leicester City grabbed their first win of the Premier League season, beating Sheffield United 2-1 on Saturday.

There wasn’t much to separate the two sides on a pulsating afternoon, but it was clear how tough this season could be for Chris Wilder and his team. 

Superb finishes from Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes either side of half time sandwiched an OIi McBurnie header.

Wilder admitted his side fell below the standards he expects and must improve.

“The first half was poor, I’ve never known us to give the ball away so cheaply,” he said.

“It was under no pressure and we kept turning the ball over, it wasn’t anything tactical from the opposition. 

“When you do that against good players, it allows them to get a foothold in the game and a rhythm. Out of possession, we weren’t brave enough.

“Second half was better, we deservedly got ourselves back into the game. But regardless of who the opposition is, I’m looking at us and it was below what we expect.”

While the Blades started with a high tempo, much like the first half against Crystal Palace last week, they lacked cutting edge. 

Leicester were a threat on the counter attack, but squandered decent chances through James Maddison and Vardy.

Having been caught offside just seconds earlier and booed throughout as an open supporter of Sheffield Wednesday, Vardy struck on 38 minutes.

He met Maddison’s beautifully weighted pass and slammed the ball past Dean Henderson, before cupping his ears in front of the silenced home crowd.

With half time approaching, United missed a great opportunity to equalise. 

Callum Robinson, still searching for his first goal after his summer move from Preston North-End, got the better of Jonny Evans, but Schmeichel was equal to his strike.

Moments of quality had been fleeting, but the interchange between Vardy, Maddison and and Ayoze Perez was impressive. 

The trio combined on the break minutes after the restart, and could have doubled Leicester’s lead, but the former England man couldn’t connect with Perez’s cross.

A double substitution for the home side saw record-signing McBurnie and talisman Billy Sharp introduced, raising the noise and energy levels. 

Two minutes past the hour, McBurnie headed home a leveller from George Baldock’s cross, opening his Blades account. It was the least they deserved after the shift in momentum.

Against the run of play, though, another substitute, Barnes, hammered Leicester ahead again. His volley fired through a crowd and into the roof of the net with 20 minutes remaining.

John Lundstram thought he had squared the game up six minutes later, but Schmeichel, who had been alert when called upon all afternoon, was there to block from point-blank range before the offside flag was raised.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was pleased with the quality and mentality his side showed on the day.



“It was a really good win for us,” he said.

 “It was a performance with good resilience in the game and we showed good quality. 

“You’ve got to show your mentality here. We had to defend well and we always looked a threat going forward.”