Blades bottom six battle

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

It was another frustrating weekend for Sheffield United, who performed well for long periods against Manchester United, only to end up coming away with nothing, just as they did against Manchester City and Tottenham earlier this season.

One point from their opening nine games leaves Paul Heckingbottom's side bottom of the Premier League and reflecting on the wisdom of selling Sander Berge to Burnley and Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille before the season began.

If there is some consolation for manager Paul Heckingbottom is comes in the knowledge his side are only four points behind Luton, who are fourth-bottom, and none of the bottom six won.

"We are not in a league against Manchester United," said Heckingbottom. "We are realistic to know what our aims are in the league we are in.

"We had to make decisions this summer about the future of the club, not about short term performance. We accepted that but when you are facing teams like this every week, you wish you had done the opposite.

"It doesn’t mean we can’t compete. One point from nine is not good enough but our league is not Manchester United, it is about the rest of the bottom six."