Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sheffield United. Premier League.
MolineuxAttendance30,789.
Report and free highlights as Pablo Sarabia's header lifts Wolves up to eighth and boosts European qualification hopes, despite below-par performance against relegation-threatened visitors; Robinson and Souza confronted each other in first half but Sheff Utd were on top in second half
Monday 26 February 2024 06:08, UK
Sheffield United team-mates Jack Robinson and Vinicius Souza clashed on the pitch as the Premier League's bottom club lost 1-0 at Wolves.
The visitors had made a promising start at Molineux, with early chances for Rhian Brewster and James McAtee. But Pablo Sarabia's header exposed more poor defending from Sheffield United and the frustration was plain to see as centre-back Robinson and midfielder Souza exchanged words and shoved each other soon after the goal.
VAR decided the incident did not meet the threshold for violent conduct for a red card, which would have been a relief for a side that saw Mason Holgate dismissed in the first half against Brighton last weekend.
But rather than implode, Sheffield United regathered their composure and had the better of the opportunities in the second half, with McAtee shooting wide, Brewster testing Jose Sa and the ball bouncing agonisingly through the six-yard box in the final moments when no player in red and white could apply the finishing touch.
The Wolves supporters grew increasingly agitated by the performance of their own players in that second 45 but Gary O'Neil's team held on for a third win in four Premier League games, which moves them up to eighth and keeps their dream of European qualification alive. Sheffield United stay bottom, eight points from safety.
Sheff Utd manager Chris Wilder told Sky Sports: "I want them to be respectful but you should imagine my response to stuff like that. My response is that it's a passionate game, they're at each other and so long as it doesn't overstep the mark - it was close.
"I don't want to see it every week but if it takes something like that to get people going, I thought we got going anyway, so there's two boys desperate to win, let's not make too much of it."
One of Sheffield United's three Premier League victories this season came in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane - and they will have left Molineux wondering how they did not take at least another point off an underwhelming Wolves side on Sunday.
Wolves started on the front foot with Anel Ahmedhodzic doing well to beat Mario Lemina to a dangerous cross early on. But it was the visitors with the first shot on target, Brewster following up his blast against Craig Dawson with a drive that was punched away by Jose Sa. The striker then shot wastefully over when a square pass to tee up McAtee was on. It was encouragement for Sheffield United.
McAtee then will have felt he should have done better when Gustavo Hamer sent him on his way but he failed to connect cleanly with his shot under pressure from Dawson.
Wolves made the Blades pay for that wastefulness. A fine cross from Rayan Ait-Nouri was met by the well-timed run of Sarabia, who guided a header into the corner for the breakthrough.
It was the 17th goal Sheffield United have conceded from crosses in the Premier League this season and the frustration of undoing their good work was plain to see when Robinson and Souza exchanged words, bumped chests and shoved each other. Referee Darren Bond decided there was not enough in it to punish either player.
It seemed at first like a sign things could unravel for the relegation-threatened side, but instead they were by far the better side in the second half, with McAtee shooting across goal, Brewster firing on the angle at Sa and sustained pressure in the final minutes seeing one long throw pinball in the Wolves penalty area before bouncing to safety.
Wolves' best moment after the break came when Sarabia drove a shot just wide of the post on the counter-attack. But his goal ultimately proved just enough to condemn Sheffield United to a 19th defeat from their 26 Premier League games - and push Wolves into contention for European football.
Wolves manager Gary O'Neil told Sky Sports:
"I liked us first half, if we do it in order we should've scored a couple more. But similarly to the away game, we really struggled second half.
"I hated it. Part of that's on me, we had a lot of time on the ball without knowing what to do with it. We weren't good enough at finding the processes, which made the fans uneasy which made the players uneasy.
"The big positive today was the support of the fans. It would've been really easy for them to give up but they never turned and helped the players get over the line. The players were still giving everything, and this is the Premier League - it's tough to win games."
Sheff Utd manager Chris Wilder told Sky Sports:
"Nothing [positive] right now, I don't want hard luck stories, that we're the whipping boys because that's the narrative. But we've got to turn good performances into results.
"We've had enough of the play, against an outstanding team who won at Tottenham, beat Chelsea, went close against Man Utd, and had them exactly where we wanted them in the second half.
"That's when we need to find that quality and composure if we want to be Premier League players. If those boys want to be in the Premier League, stay in the Premier League, make a career - not just say they've played in the Premier League, we have to find those big moments.
"So we can't slash at things, make poor decisions. However the game's going, from a tactical point of view. We've not found it. Even in the first half, we've had two big chances."
Newcastle host Wolves in the Premier League next Saturday at 3pm. Gary O'Neil's side are in action before then as they visit Brighton in the FA Cup fifth round at 7.45pm on Wednesday.
Arsenal visit Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the Premier League on Monday Night Football; kick off 8pm.
