Manchester United fans chanted Sir Bobby Charlton’s name throughout this match, then after the final whistle they could celebrate victory, one that was hard-fought and settled by a stunning winning goal from Diogo Dalot.
With the club in mourning after the passing of one of their greatest earlier in the day, there would always be a sense of perspective on the result but how desperately United wanted this win as a tribute. At times it was not pretty but Dalot’s goal was a fine strike that found the top corner.
Erik ten Hag’s team were far from fluent. This is still a team trying to gain some momentum in their season but the Dutch coach will take heart from the first back-to-back wins of their Premier League campaign.
He will also be encouraged by Andre Onana making a number of saves, while Harry Maguire is making his own comeback, playing consecutive games for the first time since the infamous defeat at Brentford last season.
After leading through Scott McTominay, they conceded an equaliser and had to dig deep to find a victory. These are small steps for Ten Hag. Paul Heckingbottom’s team have not won a game this season but they threatened an upset until Dalot struck.
There’s only one Bobby Charlton” sang the United fans in the away end before the match. News of one of their greatest players passing away was only known as fans headed to Yorkshire. They set off hoping for a result and arrived looking for a victory fitting for their hero.
Bruno Fernandes laid a wreath in the centre circle before the match, with a note reading: “In loving memory of Sir Bobby”, ahead of a minutes’ applause. As the match got underway, the chants continued.
As difficult as the circumstances were, both teams started at pace under floodlights. Blades may have conceded eight goals in their last home game but United have experience of how tough Bramall Lane can be with a capacity crowd behind the hosts. In their last match in front of fans, pre-Covid, they could only manage a high-scoring draw when the old stadium rocked.
It was Heckingbottom’s team who forged the first big chance and they should have scored from it. After Maguire had blocked a powerful shot from Gustavo Hamer with his chest, the ball fell to Oli McBurnie who had a clear shot on goal but could not place it out of Onana’s reach.
Onana was kept busy in the first half with plenty of attacking from Blades. He was called into action again, having received treatment on a knock, when Cameron Archer took advantage of a ricochet going his way and had the United keeper down sharply to stop his drive from the edge of the area.
But it was the visitors who struck first, against the run of play. McTominay, fresh from his late heroics against Brentford before the international break, continued his freescoring form. This time he managed to collect a Bruno pass that was hit with far too much pace. As the ball looped in the air it should have been cleared but the Scotland international held off Oliver Norwood and scuffed his shot into the bottom corner.
The celebrations did not last long, with McTominay conceding a penalty in the next phase of play. James McAtee’s cross was a good few yards away from the United midfielder when it struck his arm. Maguire led the protests, saying his team-mate’s arm was not in the air, but it was a spot-kick in anybody’s money. McBurnie’s penalty went in off the post and he took delight in celebrating in the direction of Onana, whose mind-games saw him waste time.
With the match in the balance, Bruno struck the bar with a free-kick, while Onana saved when Archer raced through. At the other end, Wes Foderingham palmed away when Ramus Hojlund finally saw some action in the penalty area after struggling for 45 minutes.
United went close early in the second half but there was little cohesion to their attacks. They relied on a Foderingham misplaced pass to create a chance for Hojlund, whose finish was of a player short of confidence. When Marcus Rashford was given a run at goal, he screwed his finish wide. Sofyan Amrabat got closer, smashing against the crossbar from 20 yards.
Blades threatened themselves, with Rhian Brewster coming off the bench and forcing a save from Onana with a swerving effort from his first touch of the ball. Onana also tipped over from Norwood, as the hosts shot on sight to test the Cameroon goalkeeper.
Dalot’s moment came with 13 minutes remaining, the Portuguese full-back collecting the ball from Alejandro Garnacho and bending one into the top corner. United chanted Sir Bobby’s name in celebration straight away.
