How David McGoldrick and Oli McBurnie inspired Sheffield United’s thumping of Chelsea

How they keep summing up the energy in a draining run-in is a mystery only partly explained by their mental resolve but there is far more to this team than that, as their 3-0 victory over Chelsea showed. It was as if the defeat at Manchester United was a figment of our imaginations.

Both teams got the ball down and played but whereas Chelsea often did so with plodding precision, the Blades were all about inventive incision. They had two-goal David McGoldrick’s deft touches but also fellow scorer Oli McBurnie’s aerial power, something the Blues lacked until Olivier Giroud’s introduction.

By the time he appeared, his finishing betrayed a team who knew they were beaten, whereas United continued defending with a ravenous hunger.

There were 88 minutes gone when substitute Phil Jagielka threw himself in the way of a shot like his life depended on it, never mind his team’s place in the division or even three points. The Blades were leading 3-0.

The scattering of people in the stands we still refer to as the Blades bench burst into applause.

The most damning indictment of the big clubs United are competing with is that once Tottenham Hotspur and now Chelsea went into their temporary Bramall Lane dressing room trailing at half-time, they appeared to lose all heart.

With the exception of one of their 35 league matches this season, that evening at Old Trafford, it is not an accusation you could level at Chris Wilder’s men.

Their 3-0 humbling by Manchester United was five games ago and they have not dared to play badly or at less than full throttle since.

Their energy means opponents, even more technically-gifted ones with deeper squads (this was the first time in four matches the Blades had a full set of nine substitutes to pick from), have to leave everything out there too.

Two-nil to the home side was also the scoreline in August’s game at Stamford Bridge but the Blades claimed a 2-2 draw. They should have scored two more without reply in Saturday’s second half, but Lys Mousset’s dinked finish landed the wrong side of the post.

He had already created McGoldrick’s second goal but his presence on the pitch said much.

Off-field problems seem to inspire not impair McBurnie and the day after being banned for drink-driving “like an idiot” he was outstanding. When his volley from a George Baldock cross deflected off Ross Barkley and Reece James, Kepa Arrizabalaga did brilliantly to save it, but only presented a tap-in to McGoldrick.

It was his first Premier League goal, having only found the net in two FA Cup ties and an international since Easter 2019, and for all his pre-match talk about not losing sleep, his delight was obvious, and mirrored by his team-mates.

The Blades’ second came when McBurnie hung back as Andreas Christensen was attracted to the ball, then planted a firm and precise header.

McBurnie was an outstanding targetman – his pass, then McGoldrick’s touch released Chris Basham for a sumptuous curling cross James had to put behind with Ben Osborn lurking – but his strike partner was fantastic too.

A more sentimental manager might have kept both on, but Wilder knew what was needed.

The message as he did his best impression of Alan Partridge trying to attract his mate Dan’s attention was simple and clear.

“George! Georgie! George! Georgie! Quicker!” he yelled at Baldock in the far corner.

Substitute Mousset’s pace on the counter-attack was soon injected.

“It was important we didn’t sit deep and invite (pressure) on,” explained Wilder. “You can’t allow them to dictate the game.

“We’re disappointed Lys didn’t take his chance and that’s not a dig at Chelsea, they had to take chances and at times it makes it easier for us to get in.”

The Blades’ speed made it hard for Chelsea to funnel men into an impenetrable block as the hosts did throughout. It counted for something because, as they seem to have managed all season, they have confident strikers. It was Mousset, and McGoldrick in the autumn, McBurnie and Billy Sharp in the winter, it is the Mac lads in the summer.

“He’s been great and it’s brilliant for him,” said Wilder of McGoldrick’s brace. “You get a feeling of what players are about and what they bring to the group and he leaves it all out there and steps up when it gets tough.

“He’ll be the first to admit there are some chances he should have taken but to get up and running at this level is great.

“Didzy (McGoldrick) and Oli were great, the schedule is intense so I have to get the combination right (on Thursday).”

With John Lundstram coming off the bench, John Fleck is the only one of the Blades’ pre-Covid pacesetters missing and others are adding to the group.

Osborn’s beautiful turn started the sweeping left-to-right move for the opener and it was his pass in the rapid one-two that produced Enda Stevens’s measured cross and McBurnie’s goal.

Thursday’s game at Leicester City cannot come soon enough for players whose minds have yet to let on how tired their bodies must be.

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