Bournemouth secured their first away win of the season with ease, breezing past Sheffield United as Marcus Tavernier scored twice and Justin Kluivert netted his first Premier League goal. Substitute Oli McBurnie managed to salvage some pride for the hosts with a late header.
The Blades were outplayed and outfought at Bramall Lane, where they could only muster up two shots on target in a must-win game. Bournemouth, meanwhile, peppered the United goal and arguably should’ve scored a couple more.
Sheffield United’s performance left manager Paul Heckingbottom clearly unimpressed.
“We had too many who dropped below our standards. We needed to start better and be more on the front foot to get control of the game.” [SUTV]
Over the last couple of games there’s been a trend with the Blades, against Wolves and Brighton they were poor in the first half. However, in the second half they managed to improve and grind out a win and a draw from those fixtures.
At 1-0 on Saturday, the thought in the back of fans minds was: United are still in this, despite playing terribly. But a disastrous moment from Wes Foderingham on the stroke of halftime destroyed any hope of a comeback.
Christmas came super early for Kluivert, who had his first Premier League goal gift wrapped by the Blades keeper.
“If we give goals away like that we’re not going to win games in this league, we know that,” Paul Heckingbottom stated, casting a frustrated figure.
Inconsistent performances from Wes Foderingham
Coming into this season there was talk amongst fans about the need to bring in a new goalkeeper as some doubted the 32-year-old’s ability to play in the Premier League.
It’s been a real inconsistent campaign for Wes Foderingham. He’s kept Sheffield United in games against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. But he’s had a number of shaky moments.
According to SofaScore he has prevented 1.6 goals. On the flip side, he’s made three unforced errors – two of which lead to goals.
