“You’ve got to swing some punches,” Chris Wilder said shortly after being appointed Sheffield United manager two months ago. Yet he would never have imagined that his team would take that advice so literally.
When Jack Robinson and Vinícius Souza exchanged barbs before squaring up and butting heads as they began to shove each other in the face, it looked as though United’s season was about to descend into farcical territory. Fortunately for the United pair the VAR, Jarred Gillet, decided not to intervene, sparing them further embarrassment.
“That happens at every club up and down the country three or four times a year,” Wilder said. “Of course you can’t condone it, we have a responsibility to the young kids out there playing. But that happens behind closed doors at every level, at Manchester City and the bottom of League Two.”
That may be true, yet there was no discernible reason why Robinson decided to instigate the incident, giving the bottom-of-the-table club an additional problem they could do without. For moments in the first half United were competitive, at other times they looked hopeless, and while in the second period they were respectable, this is unmistakably a project that is coming apart.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, meanwhile, were decent. Nothing too special, nor flashy, but a consistent level of performance is what we have come to expect of Gary O’Neil’s team since he took charge this season. They were measured and patient in the face of an opponent set up to frustrate and counter, but once Pablo Sarabia broke the deadlock the game was easy for them.
The victory has moved O’Neil’s side up to eighth in the Premier League, one point behind Brighton & Hove Albion and six behind Manchester United, which opens the possibility of European football — something few would have expected from a team who flirted with relegation last season. But O’Neil, 40, played down any talk of playing on the Continent next season.
“For the next hour this is probably the worst I’m going to feel being eighth, because I was really disappointed with the second half,” he said. “The second-half performance looks a long way from a team pushing to Europe.”
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Wolves’ first half, though, was much brighter. United had set up in a 5-3-2 shape when Wolves held possession, hoping to pack the midfield and make it difficult for the home side to play through the centre of the pitch.
Whenever Wolves worked the ball to the flanks, where the wingbacks Nélson Semedo and Rayan Aït-Nouri were positioned, their opposite numbers, Yasser Larouci and Jayden Bogle, sprang out to press.
From the sidelines O’Neil demanded more urgency from his players, asking them to move the ball faster when it was at their feet and to chase harder when it was not. Soon they gained control and advanced upfield.
Shortly after the 13th minute, all their outfield players apart from Craig Dawson were positioned in the final third. A couple of chances for Mario Lemina — the first stopped by Bogle, the second by a stretching Anel Ahmedhodzic in the six-yard-area — showed United’s growing desperation.
But then came a flicker of hope for the visiting team: Rhian Brewster found space after a long throw and hit two shots in quick succession, both of which were blocked. United took heart and a few minutes later the forward was bearing down on goal as Bogle nodded a pass in behind. However, Brewster fired wide.
James McAtee did slightly better a few moments later, drawing a save from José Sá, but his effort was tame. Just as United appeared as though they would take the lead, they became complacent, allowing Wolves to advance down the left wing freely.
The midfielders and forwards had not tracked back, seemingly more concerned with how they could attack. Aït-Nouri moved inside on to his right and curled the ball towards Sarabia. It was a difficult chance but the forward made it look much easier than it was: jumping backwards to connect with the ball, Sarabia guided it with the top of his head into the net.
Then came the first signs of trouble: United’s players formed an impromptu huddle — what, you wonder, can be said in a huddle after going a goal down that none of the players already know? It did little to raise spirits. Misplaced passes and dribbles were met with frustrated remonstrations and angry slaps to the ground.
United were more composed in the second period but Wolves were largely happy to keep them at arm’s length. A small handful of set pieces and breaks showed some of that quality the visiting team undoubtedly still possess but that Wolves were comfortable in first gear is a damning indictment of United.
