Sheffield United signed off 2023 with a gutsy defeat away at Manchester City, with manager Chris Wilder looking forward to a new year which will hopefully bring better fortunes. City dominated the ball against the bottom club but could only muster four shots on target in their 2-0 win.
Boss Wilder is now looking forward to a January period which will see him add to his squad and also work with his players on the training pitch, as they look to beat the odds and mount a bid for survival in the new year. Here are seven things we learned from their defeat at the Etihad...
1. A bit of context
No-one at United, let alone Wilder, enjoys losing games of football. Players don't reach this level without having an innate hunger for victory. But sometimes you also have to hold your hands up and admit that there isn't a great deal you can do about it when playing a side like this. United, and this is said with no disrespect to their players at all, are barely playing the same sport as the likes of Rodri and Foden and Grealish and the rest of City's star-studded cast. To criticise United for not 'having a go', as some did on Twitter after the game, is crazy. They would have been picked off inside the first few minutes and well on their way to a heavy and potentially-damaging defeat. Instead it was a form of damage limitation; try and contain, pick your moments to go forward and see what happens. And on another day who knows what could have happened...
2. Chances
Will Osula would probably have been asleep before his head hit the pillow when he returned home last night. He had the terribly tough task of leading the line alone for the Blades but did it admirably with a display of good maturity, showing off his raw attributes of pace and power by stalking down Nathan Ake more than once and forcing a multiple champion to panic and clear his lines. Osula's big two moments arrived quickly and although his first shot may not have counted, with Jayden Bogle close to being offside before he crossed in, his header from the resulting corner was a glorious chance. But he couldn't make the necessary contact and Ederson had an easy save, rather than picking the ball out of his net. United fans have been crying out for a powerful and pacy striker for what seems like years ... and this was more evidence that they may have just discovered one of their own from the academy
3. A show of character
United's players may not have been able to match their City compatriots in terms of quality but in terms of heart and desire, they are right up there. How many sides, bottom of the league and low on belief and confidence, would go 1-0 behind inside the first 15 minutes, on a day of such celebration for a City side full of swagger, and go on to get battered by four, five or more? Instead, United limited City to just four attempts on Wes Foderingham's goal, two of which went in. City understandably dominated possession but a combination of profligacy and protection from those in front of him limited the work that Foderingham had to do, which will have been very welcome after the scrutiny placed on him following his error against Luton...
4. You've gotta have faith...
Wilder dropped a big hint in midweek that he would stick with Foderingham when he spoke about the need not to make "knee-jerk reactions" and the United goalkeeper showed what he is made of personally with a couple of good bits of goalkeeping in the first half, including a smart save to prevent Bernardo Silva netting from a tight angle. There were some hairy moments in the second, including when Julian Alvarez chased down Foderingham's kick and blocked it, but this time the ball sailed over the bar and life moved on. The life and times of a goalkeeper can hinge on a bit of luck and Foderingham hasn't had much of that in recent times, but the barrage of shots he was expected to face here didn't materialise and hopefully he regained a bit of confidence as a result...