3 things we learned from Manchester United’s 2-1 loss vs Sheffield United
By Mark Shannon
Sheffield United produced a big upset and put a little wrinkle in the Premier League title race on Wednesday, defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford.
With the loss, the Red Devils failed to regain the top spot and now trail Manchester City by one point with Pep Guardiola’s side having a game in hand as well
Kean Bryan scored the opener in the 22nd minute of the game. Harry Maguire would eventually tie the game up with a header in the 64th minute. Sheffield United would ultimately capitalize on a calamity of errors in the Manchester United penalty area that would lead to Oliver Burke’s eventual winner. It was the first-ever goal scored by Burke in the Premier League.
Maguire made a back pass to David de Gea, but the goalkeeper only cleared the ball to John Lundstram. After another error in the box, Burke would eventually fire a shot that deflected off Axel Tuanzebe and went into the net off the underside of the bar.
Here are our takeaways from the match:
VAR creates controversy again
When VAR was first introduced, there were some who disagreed and some who agreed with the new program. Now, most teams and players are becoming increasingly frustrated with it due to the inconsistency of the rulings.
Manchester United was denied a game-tying goal when Maguire beat Aaron Ramsdale to the ball and made slight contact, but it was ruled out after VAR saw the interference. This was just a few minutes after the Blades put themselves up 1-0 after their goal, which was controversial as well.
Admittedly, there have been some decisions in the past for which United have VAR to thank for. But last night, they would have felt hard done by.