Brentford 2-3 Sheffield United: Blades come from behind to win five-goal thriller

Sheffield United stayed in touch with the Sky Bet Championship's top two with a 3-2 win at struggling Brentford.

An Ezri Konsa own goal, a sublime Oliver Norwood strike and a Leon Clarke second-half winner were enough to consign the Bees to their sixth defeat in seven games.

Neal Maupay's opener and Romaine Sawyers' second-half deflected strike were not enough to ease the pressure on new Brentford head coach Thomas Frank.

Maupay gave the hosts the dream start after just six minutes when he drilled home under keeper Dean Henderson after a clever one-two on the edge of the box with Sawyers.

But the lead lasted just four minutes as a completely unchallenged Konsa bizarrely glanced a header into his own net.

United took the lead five minutes later, Kieron Freeman teeing up Norwood to curl a beauty around and over Bees keeper Daniel Bentley into the top corner.

It could have been worse for the Londoners when Enda Stevens' driven low cross found John Lundstram, whose first-time effort shook the crossbar from eight yards.

Midway through the first half the Blades should have scored a third when a low cross eluded the flat-footed Bees defence and only a brilliant point-blank stop from Bentley denied David McGoldrick at the far post.

Sergi Canos should have thrown the hosts a lifeline on the half hour but his driving run from the wing ended with a shot that flew high and wide.

Norwood's free-kick just before the break was stopped by Bentley and Canos flashed a volley over the bar at the other end as the half ended with United leaving the Brentford defence chasing shadows.

Brentford emerged brighter after the break, Yoann Barbet fizzing a low drive just past the upright and Maupay's shout for a penalty after being bundled over by Jack O'Connell in the box was waved away by referee Stephen Martin.

But the hosts levelled in the 65th minute when Sawyers seized on a loose ball, drove forward and fired a rasping drive past Henderson with the help of a John Fleck deflection.

Second-half substitute Clarke almost gave the visitors the lead straight from the kick-off but somehow powered his header wide when it looked easier to score.

But he made amends minutes later. Barbet was sleeping from a quickly taken throw and Conor Washington's low cross from the byline was calmly sidefooted home in his stride by the veteran striker.

Maupay fired an instinctive effort just wide as Brentford chased the game, but they looked vulnerable every time the Blades pushed forward.

Alan Judge's late free-kick was palmed wide by Henderson by the foot of his post at the death, but a point would have papered over the cracks for a Brentford side short on confidence and sliding down the table.

The managers

Thomas Frank: "[Chris Mepham and Konsa] will both be excellent Premier League players but right now they are making mistakes and they need to learn damn quick.

"If you'd said to me when I took the job that after seven games we'd lose six I would have said 'no way, not with these players, not at this club', but that is the status and the only way we will get out of it is to work hard to improve and get better."

Chris Wilder: "There weren't really any nerves and our keeper hasn't had an unbelievable amount to save and couldn't do much about the two deflections for their goals.

"Realistically we had to weather little bits and pieces but we were really disciplined without the ball. We hit the bar, missed a couple of chances and could have been a little bit tidier to make it that bit easier."

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