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Ben Mee’s header moved Burnley five points above the last three with a 1-0 win over Sheffield United, which remains 11 points from safety.
Mee nodded at Robbie Brady’s corner after 32 minutes to settle a game of few clear chances at Turf Moor, with the brave Blades again ruining a lapse of concentration in an otherwise nearly even game.
Moments before falling behind, they had approached from a corner with Rhian Brewster denied on the line by Josh Brownhill’s blocking, while David McGoldrick pulled off a strong save from Nick Pope five minutes into the interval.
On the other hand, Aaron Ramsdale was in good shape to avoid the efforts of Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, but Mee, with just his fifth Premier League goal in 175 appearances, did enough to lift Burnley to 16th place, three. points ahead of 17th-ranked Brighton who have played one more game.
Burnley stands firm to extend the gap to the relegation zone
The resurgent Burnley nearly continued his upward momentum in the first minute when Barnes took Wood’s punch in stride before pulling off a strong save from Ramsdale at his first post.
An early injury to Charlie Taylor took the wind out of the hosts’ sails, and Sheffield United soon began to look as usual, but with their family struggles once they reached the Burnley area.
At the half-hour mark, they came within inches of a breakthrough; Brewster’s downward header was cleared off the line by Brownhill with Pope defeated, and the Clarets survived to fight another day.
Ben Mee celebrates his goal against Sheffield United to give victory to Burnley
It was a cruel irony for the visitors who would in moments be left behind in a corner at the other end, with Mee climbing higher to beat Ethan Ampadu and power Brady’s delivery inside the near post.
Brewster and Wood would trade efforts before Burnley went in on a good goal at halftime, with the visitors still very much in the game, and emerged for the second period as if they knew it.
Five minutes after the restart, McGoldrick came close to finishing off an intricate passing movement, but found Pope up to his effort from a tight angle.
However, it took another 25 minutes for the goalkeeper to worry again despite his territorial dominance, when George Baldock’s shot was deflected off his own post by a sliding block from James Tarkowski.
Burnley switched to a five-man midfield to see three major points and while they still allowed McGoldrick to slip out of a corner in the final minutes, they resisted Sheffield United’s huffing and puffing to continue his return to his early season form. , and now he’s only lost one of his last six games.
What the managers said …
Burnley Chief Sean Dyche: “I’m very happy, it’s an important result. We delivered a different kind of performance, I don’t think we were as good as we were against Leeds, but we got the result with our form and our work.”
“We thought it would be a close match, his scores have often been tight. We had a good show of what we were doing Sunday in the first half, absorbing a lot of his game and creating a golden chance or two. You don’t always have 20 -30 opportunities, is the quality of opportunities. “
Sheff Utd Manager Chris Wilder: “We should do more, especially in the middle and final third. At the end, they sat down and took off their socks, which they do as a team, we struggled to find that space, to find that pass that would get us back in the game.” .
“I’m saying the same thing again. It was a good start for them, they were the best team for the first 10 or 15 minutes, then we took hold and started dictating and we had some opportunities. Good areas that we want to get into, but hit the first man, don’t show that little bit of quality. “
Man of the match – Ben Mee
It’s easy to award the man of the match award to a scorer, but it would be hard to overlook Mee’s defensive performance against Sheffield United that splashed the penalty area with 16 crosses in open play.
In addition to his goal, the center-back won six aerial duels and only Ashley Westwood and Eric Pieters completed more passes for the hosts.
Mee has now scored a league goal in 2019/20 and 2020/21, and both proved to be match winners in 1-0 victories.
Match statistics
- Sheffield United are winless in their 16 Premier League games this season, equaling Queens Park Rangers’ Premier League record for the longest winless streak since the start of a campaign (16 in 2012-13).
- Burnley secured back-to-back wins at home in the Premier League for the first time since October 2019.
- Burnley has won three of their last four Premier League home games (D1), as many as in their previous 13 combined (W3 D4 L6).
- Sheffield United have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 19 Premier League games since a 3-0 win against Chelsea in July.
- Sheffield United’s Oliver Burke has not finished on the winning side in any of his first 25 Premier League appearances, the longest winless start in a player’s career in the competition (topping Gareth Bale’s 24 applications) .
- Burnley’s Ben Mee has scored his first Premier League goal at Turf Moor in 76 games since scoring against Crystal Palace in January 2015. Four of Mee’s five Premier League goals have been headers.
Whats Next?
Both sides are alive Sky sports this weekend, with Burnley’s home game against Fulham live Sky Sports Premier League and Main event from 2:30 p.m. on Sunday; Start at 3pm.
Sheffield United’s trip to Crystal Palace 24 hours earlier is also live Sky Sports Premier League and Main event Saturday from 2.30 pm; Start at 3pm.
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