EPL Round Up: Sheffield stun Manchester United at Old Trafford

Manchester United missed the chance to return to the summit of the Premier League table following their surprising 2-1 loss to Sheffield United on Wednesday night at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were firm favourites to beat the League’s bottom team but that was not the case at the Theatre of Dreams.

It was Sheffield United that scored first at Old Trafford as Keane Bryan gave the visitors a surprise lead in the 23rd minute and they held on until the break.

1 – Sheffield United are leading at half-time in a Premier League game for the first time this season. Uncharted. pic.twitter.com/FZJs9EFtwh

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 27, 2021

Expectedly, Man United came all out in the second half for the equaliser and they got that when captain Harry Maguire headed in the ball in the 64th minute

While one would think the Red Devils will press forward from there, it was Sheffield that scored again through Oliver Bruke ten minutes after.

The 74th minute goal by the visitors turned out to be the winning goal as Manchester United’s title credentials were questioned by the relegation battlers.

At Goodison Park, the spoils were shared between Everton and Leicester City as their game ended 1-1.

James Rodriguez gave the Toffees the lead in the first half but the Foxes got back into the game with an equaliser in the second half from Youri Tielemans.

Also on Wednesday, Thomas Tuchel failed to hit the ground running with Chelsea as the Blues could only secure a barren draw against Wolves in his first match in charge.

Though Tuchel orchestrated a possession-heavy performance on his first outing, the Blues crucially lacked a cutting edge.

820 – Chelsea completed 820 passes and recorded 78.9% possession against Wolves – since the start of 2003-04, these are both the highest totals by a team in their manager’s first Premier League game in charge. Stamp. #CHEWOL pic.twitter.com/oTLXi1071o

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 27, 2021

Olivier Giroud who got a look in for a starting role under the new manager squandered Chelsea’s best first-half opening.

Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz all passed up opportunities to earn their new manager three points in the second half .

The solitary point against Wolves sees Chelsea climb to eighth in the table, but they remain 11 points off the summit after a run of just one win in their last six league games.

Elsewhere, Brighton and Fulham also played out a barren draw while Burnley emerged 3-2 winners in the five-goal thriller against Aston Villa.