Sheffield United suffered a 3-1 defeat against Fulham at Craven Cottage, with all the goals coming in the second half. Antonee Robinson’s own goal briefly leveled the score, but two late goals secured the win for Fulham.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom made three changes, including Auston Trusty’s first Premier League start, Basham’s return, and Ollie Norwood replacing James McAtee in midfield. John Fleck also returned to the squad after recovering from a leg fracture, making his first appearance this season.
Lineups
Fulham: Leno, Ream, De Cordova-Reid (Wilson 78), Pereira (Cairney 71), Willian, Castagne, Iwobi (Reed 78), Palhinha, Vinicius (Muniz 78), Diop (Bassey 71), Robinson.
Unused: Rodak, Jimenez, Ballo-Toure, Lukic.
Blades: Foderingham, Trusty, Basham (Robinson 35), Hamer (McAtee 66), McBurnie, Archer (Brewster 79), Thomas (Larouci 66), Ahmedhodžić, Norwood, Bogle, Souza.
Unused: A. Davies, Fleck, Traoré, Slimane, Seriki.
First half
In the early exchanges, Fulham dominated as Willian’s goal-bound shot was blocked, and Trusty cleared a threatening cross from Antonee Robinson. Trusty continued his strong start with a crucial block as Willian and Robinson set up Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
Goalkeeper Wes Foderingham made his first save from Willian, and Robinson missed the follow-up.
A distressing moment occurred on 23 minutes when captain Basham suffered a serious injury while attempting a cross. After a 14-minute stoppage, he was stretchered off, managing a ‘thumbs up’ amid applause.
Sheffield United countered before the break but it came to nothing. While Hamer had to go sliding in as the last line of defence to deny Willian. Pereira missed Fulham’s best chance, firing over from Willian’s delivery with the player leaning back.
That put an end to a horrific first half display highlighted by the gruesome injury to Sheffield United legend Basham.
Second half
In the second half, Pereira’s attempt went wide after a long run, and Norwood’s deflected shot missed the mark, while McBurnie’s header from the following corner went straight into the hands of Leno. Palhinha received a yellow card for a late challenge on McBurnie.
Hamer sprinted back in the 50th minute to deflect Iwobi’s shot wide, and De Cordova-Reid fired over from the resulting corner. Fulham took the lead on 54 minutes when Vinicius squared for De Cordova-Reid, who slid the ball past Foderingham.
United almost responded quickly as Archer’s nimble footwork set up a chance for McBurnie, who narrowly missed connecting with Archer’s cross. Hamer had another opportunity from a corner but blazed it agonisingly over the crossbar.
Heckingbottom’s double change saw Larouci and McAtee introduced, resulting in an immediate impact. Larouci’s cross was diverted into his own net by Robinson. McBurnie received a yellow card for a poorly timed challenge on Palhinha.
On 76 minutes, Fulham regained the lead as Cairney’s shot hit the bar and went in off Foderingham and instant replay showed just how fortuitous his long distance effort was.
Wilson hit the post shortly after, and Thomas made a crucial block. Norwood received a yellow card for a late challenge on Wilson, and subsequently, Fulham added a third with Willian’s low drive beating Foderingham after he failed to get a strong enough wrist to it.
The Blades head into another international break without a win and they have two consecutive tough games against Manchester United and Arsenal when the Premier League resumes.
