Big Match Verdict: Bradford City left as mere bystanders at Sheffield United's title party

Not only were the jubilant Blades fans treated to The Only Way is Up and Ain’t No Stopping Us Now, but also a tune that has become de rigueur on such an occasion, Queen’s We are the Champions.

Even someone who had spent the past fortnight in solitary confinement could not have failed to pick up on the fact Bramall Lane was about to welcome its first title-winning side in 35 years.

Even if they did, then what followed in a scintillating first half proved beyond doubt that United are a champion side.

Bradford City, who had won seven of their previous 10 games before yesterday, were simply blown away in front of the live Sky cameras.

Leon Clarke netted twice and Billy Sharp once as Chris Wilder’s men produced a performance every bit as impressive as their relentless pursuit of promotion has been all season long.

The in-form strike duo may have got the goals, but this was a team display in every sense of the words.

From a three-man defence that has been the backbone of the South Yorkshire club’s dominance of the third tier through to a midfield that possesses the right balance of trickery and endeavour, the Blades were simply too good for Stuart McCall’s men.

It was a fitting way to mark a first home game since both promotion and the title had been secured.

No wonder thousands of jubilant Blades fans poured on to the field at full-time before then returning to the stands to witness a lap of honour by their heroes.

A party that has been six long years in coming was quickly in full swing as the champagne corks popped and Wilder was afforded his own ovation for masterminding next season’s return to the Championship.

As for Bradford’s dejected fans, they were understandably long gone by the time the home team re-emerged.

It had been a chastening end to an afternoon that had begun with genuine hopes of pipping Bolton Wanderers and Fleetwood Town to runners-up spot.

The admirable gesture of welcoming the title winners on to the field with a guard of honour was followed by a similarly accommodating stance from the Bantams once play got under way.

McCall’s decision to start with a back three and charge the combination of Timothee Dieng and Josh Cullen with offering further protection backfired horribly.

Neither Dieng nor Cullen were able to get a grip on a Blades midfield that broke at will during the opening quarter.

The upshot was Wilder’s men being two goals to the good before 20 minutes had elapsed.

Clarke opened the scoring, the in-form striker finishing with aplomb after a surging run from Jack O’Connell that included a neat exchange of passes with Mark Duffy.

Sharp doubled that advantage with his fifth goal in four meetings with City as a Blade after John Fleck had made an unopposed dart through midfield.

McCall had seen enough and immediately withdrew Dieng, sending on Alex Jones in the hope he could spark a revival.

City’s Charlie Wyke did head wide just before the half-hour after being picked out by Mark Marshall.

But even the most optimistic among the 2,109 visiting fans housed in the lower tier behind the goal surely knew a side as buoyant as the hosts were never going to allow such an advantage to slip.

Sure enough, United netted for a third time shortly before half-time when Duffy and Sharp combined to create an opportunity that Clarke gratefully snaffled for his fifth goal in four appearances since returning from an ankle injury.

After that, the 66th meeting of these old Yorkshire foes was all about the likely size of United’s winning margin.

In the end, no more goals materialised despite the Kop faithful spending the final 20 minutes imploring anyone in red and white to shoot once within even vague sight of goal.

Sharp was denied a second by, first, a Cullen block and then a smart save from Doyle, Chris Basham making a total hash of the rebound with the goal gaping.

This lack of scoring action didn’t bother the home fans, who poured on to the field at full-time to hail a club record 28th victory of the season.

The challenge now is to add two more to that tally and bring up a century of points for the first time in United’s history.

Sheffield United: Moore; Wright, Basham, O’Connell; Freeman, Fleck, Wright, Lafferty; Duffy (Carruthers 66); Clarke, Sharp. Unused substitutes: Long, McNulty, Done, Ebanks-Landell, O’Shea, Chapman.

Bradford City: Doyle; McArdle, Vincelot, Knight-Percival; Cullen; McMahon, Law, Dieng (Jones 22), Meredith; Marshall, Wyke. Unused substitutes: Darby, Sattelmaier, Toner, Clarke, Hiwula, Devine.

Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire).