Sheffield United

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder speaking to BBC Sport: "We chucked it away. We got our noses in front. We don't go out and stop a cross. We are sat on the six yard line and things like that are going to happen if you sit that deep. It is the defending attitude and shape that has cost us.

"It will look a bit unlucky but it isn't unlucky, it is us and we chucked it.

"We had control of the game. We have to control our emotion as well. We got back into the game and then we just have to make decisions. It should have been 3-1 and them chucking players forwards.

"The game is hard enough for Sheffield United in the Premier League. It is hard enough at this level where games can easily be turned on the head and they have not had to work that hard to turn it around from 2-1 down to 3-2 up.

"We were not great in the first half. We were passive and they were aggressive. Their first goal was another disappointing one. We came in and a lot of people perhaps thought it was a deserved scoreline. We changed it around at half time and we got that reaction and we deserved to be ahead, we were the ones searching for the next goal.

"It is the mindset and when you are in this position where points are difficult to come by you want to protect, but it is not a time to protect."

• Sheffield United conceded two own goals in the same Premier League match for the first time. They became the first team to do so overall since Leicester City v Liverpool in December 2022. No team has conceded more own goals in the competition this season than the Blades (3).

• Luton Town came back to win a Premier League match after being behind for the first time. Prior to today, the Hatters had lost 11 and drawn two of the 13 matches in which they had went behind.

• Alfie Doughty scored his first Premier League goal in what was his 17th appearance in the top-flight. He was Luton Town’s 12th different scorer in the Premier League this season (excl. own goals) – only Newcastle United, Everton and Arsenal have had more different scorers this season (all three with 14).

• Sheffield United are only the second team to concede 47 or more goals after their first 19 matches of a Premier League season, and the first since Barnsley in 1997-98 (50 conceded).

• Only against Birmingham City (6) has Sheffield United’s Oliver McBurnie scored more league goals than he has against Luton Town in the top four tiers of English football, with McBurnie netting five league goals against the Hatters.

Bottom club Sheffield United suffered a demoralising home defeat as Luton Town snatched victory in an extraordinary Premier League game at Bramall Lane.

A howler by Wes Foderingham gifted Luton the lead when Alfie Doughty's 17th-minute attempt slipped through the keeper's legs and into the net.

The Blades thought they had turned it around after the interval, Oli McBurnie equalising after Sam Allison - the first black referee to take charge of an English top-flight match for 15 years - played a smart advantage when James McAtee appeared to have been fouled.

With fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest winning earlier at Newcastle, the Blades - who are at Manchester City on Saturday (15:00 GMT) - needed all three points and captain Anel Ahmedhodzic fired them in front from close range after Luton failed to clear.

But two own goals in the space of four minutes - first a flicked header by Jack Robinson and then by substitute Anis Ben Slimane - allowed Luton to seal back-to-back Premier League wins after their 1-0 victory over Newcastle last Saturday.

Were you at Bramall Lane, or did you watch the match at home?

Sheffield United fans - how do you rate your team's performance?

Luton fans - submit your post-match thoughts here

Follow all the reaction

Former Chelsea and England striker Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For the fixtures over the festive period on 26, 27 and 28 December, he takes on Samuel T Herring, frontman of Baltimore-based synth-pop band Future Islands and an Everton fan.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

I wouldn't quite say they have turned a corner, but both teams have shown recently why they shouldn't be written off as relegation certainties.

Luton in particular have really surprised me this season. They got a great win against Newcastle last time out and their reaction after Tom Lockyer's collapse in their previous game spoke volumes about the spirit in their team and the club as a whole. It was great to see.

Sheffield United got a brilliant result too at Villa Park and surprised everyone with their draw - although they are probably disappointed they didn't win.

Blades boss Chris Wilder has already got one home victory under his belt, against Brentford, since taking charge at the start of the month, and I think his side will edge this one too.

Samuel's prediction: Luton are putting up one heck of a fight. 0-1

Read all of Sutton's predictions here

There are five games being played in the Premier League on Boxing Day and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

• Sheffield United have lost just one of their past seven league games against Luton, though it was at Bramall Lane in the most recent meeting in March last season (0-1).

• Sheffield United’s last Boxing Day victory in the top flight came against Luton Town in 1990, a 1-0 win at Kenilworth Road. Since then they are winless in six such matches, failing to score on five occasions.

• Luton Town have won three of their past five league games on Boxing Day, having been winless in seven such matches in the Football League before this.

• This will be Sheffield United’s 100th league game on Boxing Day since the Football League was formed, with only Manchester United (53), Aston Villa (46) and West Bromwich Albion (45) winning more such games than the Blades (44).

• Carlton Morris scored both of Luton’s goals against Sheffield United in the Championship last season, netting home and away against the Blades. The only team he has scored in three consecutive appearances against in his English league career are Blackburn Rovers.

We asked you for your best memories of the festive football period as a Sheffield United fan.

Here's what you had to say:

Daniel: Beating Nottingham Forest just before Christmas in 1990 for our first win and kicking off our great escape!

Lee: Blades away at Barnsley in the snow! Billy Sharp and James Beattie up front and we managed to get a goal late in the game due to a young Sharp bagging before running into a chaotic away end!

Tom: Beating Derby 3-1 in 2018. Great performance and David McGoldrick lobbed the keeper, showing what an inspired free transfer he had been. It kick-started the real push towards the return to the Premier League.

The end of another year is almost upon us - how much do you remember about Sheffield United over the past 12 months?

Test yourself with a question from every month of 2023.

Have a go here

The Christmas spirit and the deluge of games that come with it is upon us.

For a player, it’s a crazy time. What’s mad is everything is happening festive wise and you want to enjoy it in some way – like a party for the lads if you can fit it in. It means you feel you have some kind of Christmas.

But the games keep coming, especially at the top end if you’re in several competitions. Then you have the training load and training on Christmas Day. I won’t lie, that is psychologically a challenge not to feel a bit sorry for yourself. Sometimes you think everyone is having a good time, but you have to think how many people would swap with your position. You have to realise and think about what you are doing.

But when you have your kids there playing with their new toys and you have to go training, that is a big sacrifice It’s not about money, it’s just human nature.

What I think they should do is make it compulsory that you cannot train as a club on Christmas Day. That way, no one gets an advantage. What happens is you see is the owners will question why you didn’t train if you lose on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is brilliant to play on. You can see the bigger crowds and feel the festive spirit. I used to love having Christmas Day off and playing on Boxing Day. But only a few managers will trust you to have that day off, Neil Warnock was one of them.

It’s a tiring spell and I will admit, I have been set to play on Boxing Day and wondered if I’ll get through the game as I’d had too much Christmas dinner.

Playing in this spell, you have to take it as a privilege. You are playing so everyone else is able to watch football at that great time of year.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Thursday, Friday and Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

Tottenham 2-1 Everton

Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal

We asked you for your thoughts after Aston Villa and Sheffield United played out a 1-1 draw on Friday night.

Here are some of your comments:

Villa fans

Woody: I think this was a real test of character for Villa. After the maybe unexpected victories vs City and Arsenal, this was very disappointing for the fans. I don’t think we are very clear how to play in games where we have all the possession and need to break down well organised defences- we seemed a bit short of ideas - complacent maybe?

David: Breaking down teams who sit back against us is a new problem and a massive compliment. The fact we still picked up a point is a positive. We're still a work in progress and these games will show Emery where he needs to strengthen - upgrades on Cash and Duran looking likely.

Teddy: As usual Villa showed no urgency against a team they should beat and fair play to Sheffield United who suffocated our midfield, defended in numbers and also had VAR on their side. Villa have to reset, accept this is a blip and keep the faith - It’s still a very Happy Christmas for all us Villa fans!

Sheffield United fans:

Richard: Excellent fighting performance against a top four team. Well done Blades.

Sam: Chris Wilder is making us hard to beat, the improvement since his arrival is clear for all to see.

John: Good battling performance.

Aaron: Wasn't a pretty performance, but was almost the perfect smash-and-grab. Considering they had numerous VAR appeals and a goal disallowed, it's a decent point on the board.

Catch up with all the post-match reaction from Sheffield United's 1-1 draw with high-flying Aston Villa on the latest episode of Blades Heaven.

Hear from Rob Kozluk, Chris Wilder and Jack Robinson after the Blades made it four points from four games under Wilder.

Listen now on BBC Sounds

• Aston Villa failed to win a Premier League home game for the first time since 18trFebruary (2-4 v Arsenal), with this just the second time they had trailed in a league game at Villa Park since then (also v Crystal Palace in September).

• Sheffield United have won four points in their four Premier League games under Chris Wilder this season, just one fewer than they managed in their first 14 league games of the current campaign under Paul Heckingbottom (five points).

• Aston Villa had 77.6% possession against Sheffield United, their most ever in a Premier League match on record (since 2003-04).

• The Blades didn’t attempt a shot in this match until the 78th minute, although they had more attempts (5) than Aston Villa (4) in the final 15 minutes of play.

• Cameron Archer became just the second player to appear for Aston Villa and score against them in a single Premier League season, after Ugo Ehiogu in 2000-01.

• Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal (96:59) was the latest equaliser in a Premier League game for Aston Villa on record (since 2006-07).

• Douglas Luiz has been directly involved in 20 goals in the Premier League since the start of last season (11 goals, nine assists), with only Ollie Watkins having more combined goals and assists (36) for Aston Villa in this period.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Being greedy, and the manner of their goal as well, [I wanted three points] but we'd have definitely have settled for a point before the game.

"They've not really opened us up, we lost it in the build-up and allowed the boy to drift into the box. We're disappointed with the manner of the goal because you get so close and you have to put in so much effort. To give it up at the death is disappointing.

"You're learning about these players who are going into the Lion's Den on a Friday night against Villa who can go top of the league. We've had players out and selection isn't easy.

"We changed the shape, we tried to make it difficult and uncomfortable which we had to.

"I thought Cameron Archer was outstanding. I said to the players, the amount of coaching sessions we've had, we will be better. The more work we do on the training ground. It's a team that has been put together very quickly in the summer. There's plenty to work with with the players and this result gives me great hope."

Aston Villa missed out on the chance to move top of the Premier League as they were held at home by bottom club Sheffield United.

Cameron Archer, sold by Villa to the Blades in the summer, stunned the hosts by opening the scoring in the 88th minute from close range.

Substitute Nicolo Zaniolo snatched a point for Villa with a header deep into stoppage time, but they could not find a winner.

Villa needed a win to go top for the first time since August 2011, having not led the table at this stage in a season for 25 years.

But despite dominating possession and chances, they remain behind leaders Arsenal on goal difference.

Leon Bailey had the ball in the net earlier in the second half but it was ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR).

Villa had come close in the first half when United keeper Wes Foderingham saved low from Moussa Diaby, before Ezri Konsa sent a stooping far-post header over from a John McGinn corner.

They were also frustrated by VAR, which corroborated on-pitch official Anthony Taylor's decision not to award an 11th-minute penalty when Ollie Watkins was bundled over by Vinicius Souza.

VAR continued to deny Villa after the break, with Jacob Ramsey judged to have fouled Foderingham from a corner before Bailey swept home just before the hour.

And they were sucker punched in the 88th minute when Archer turned home Gustavo Hamer's pull back from inside the six-yard box, before Zaniolo rescued some small consolation by beating Foderingham to Douglas Luiz's 97th-minute cross.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

Villa fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate your side's performance, Blades fans?

Follow all the reaction here

Aston Villa v Sheffield United is Friday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Felix White, guitarist with 86TVs and a Fulham fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Sheffield United famously scored a ghost goal at Villa Park in 2020, when they were denied a win because Hawk-Eye did not recognise they had scored.

The Blades could do with a few of those at the other end this time because I do not see them keeping Villa out otherwise.

I think there has been a slight upturn in performances since Chris Wilder took charge at the start of December, but they are still bottom of the table.

Villa, meanwhile, are flying. They had to come from behind to beat Brentford last week but their home form is so impressive. Their long winning run at Villa Park has to end at some point, but it is hard to see it happening here.

Unai Emery's side will be top on Christmas Day if they win this one and Arsenal draw with Liverpool. What an incentive that is to keep pushing on.

Felix's prediction: 4-1

I have triple-captained Ollie Watkins in my Fantasy team this week so I'm going for him to get a hat-trick.

I am bottom of my league because I did not realise you got charged points for every transfer you make… so I made about 45. I am so heartbroken about it. I'm checking it way more than I should be.

Read all of Sutton's predictions for this weekend's games

Ben Meakin, BladesPod, external

Sheffield United need a new pen - for getting players to sign on the dotted line early in the new year. United have 10 players who have started a Premier League game already this season whose contract expires in the summer, along with promising academy products Daniel Jebbison and Rhys Norrington-Davies.

While it is time to say farewell to ageing fringe players like John Fleck, the spine of the squad for the past few years is up for renewal: John Egan, George Baldock, Oli McBurnie, Wes Foderingham and Oli Norwood being some of the more notable names.

Someone please make a stop at the nearest stationery supplier to Bramall Lane, and get it in the hands of this squad's most useful, valuable players long before they hit an open market in which we might not be able to compete.

Jimmy Smith from Blades Ramble has been speaking about the transition from Paul Heckingbottom to Chris Wilder on BBC Radio Sheffield's Blades Heaven podcast: "It's still going to be a tricky festive period, but the future itself under Chris Wilder looks much brighter for me. I've been a huge backer of Wilder and it was such a shame to see him go in the first place.

"I still think Paul Heckingbottom did a great job for getting us [to the Premier League]. It was the job he was asked to do and he did it in very difficult circumstances, but it was not working. I don't think he was sufficiently backed in the summer, I have to say.

"Wilder brings a whole new dynamic to the situation. He brings everybody back together again, and it's looking very good this festive season.

"He's come in and his primary aim has been to get a togetherness back in the club, whether that's the supporters or players coming together. It's absolutely night and day.

"It's Chris Wilder's wheelhouse this, in terms of maximising what he can get out of players with potentially limited ability. Our squad is not a Premier League squad. We've got elements of quality in there, but we have to get the most out of these players."

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