Oli slick! NORWOOD GIVES BLADES EDGE
IT was a tale of two Olivers as Sheffield United cut down Blackburn, overhauling them at the top of the table with their third successive win at Bramall Lane.
For Blades midfielder Oliver Norwood, this was a memorable afternoon with his 33rd-minute Beckham-esque free-kick setting up another impressive win under Paul Heckingbottom.
Norwood curled a stunning 25-yard set-piece into the roof of the net for only his second league goal since 2019 to inflict a second heavy defeat on Rovers inside four days.
Iliman Ndiaye secured the points with a quickfire double, finding the net in the 73rd minute with Sander Berge’s drive going in off his backside.
His second six minutes later was a stunning solo effort, beating three opponents before blasting home from the edge of the box.
But it was another frustrating day for team-mate Ollie Mcburnie, whose 20-month wait for a goal drags on.
He’ll never have a better chance to end the barren run but after having had one shot cleared off the line early on, he missed a sitter in the 61st minute allowing Thomas Kaminski to save his shot from three yards out and then wasted another chance three minutes later.
“That was really good,” said Heckingbottom. “We were positive in possession and aggressive out of it.
“We’re not at the stage where you can say who is the best team in the league but we’re already in a better position than at this stage last season but it means nothing.
“Tell me we’re top of the league after 40 games and I will be delighted.”
Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson, who is desperate to strengthen his wafer-thin squad, said: “We knew it was going to be tough and it was.
“They were better than us throughout.” SHEFFIELD UNITED: Foderingham 6; Ahmedhodzic 7, Egan 6, Norrington-davies 7; Baldock 6 (Basham (76) 6), Berge 7 (Doyle (84) 6), Fleck 7, Norwood 8, Lowe 6; Khadra 7 (Ndiaye (65) 8), Mcburnie 5 (Brewster (84) 6) BLACKBURN: Kaminski 6; Phillips 6 (Morton (72) 5), Ayala 7, Pickering 5; Brittain 6, Travis 6, Szmodics 5 (Dolan (66) 6), Buckley 5, Edun 5; Gallagher 6, Breretondiaz 6 STAR MAN: Oliver Norwood – a memorable goal and a classy midfield display. REF: Leigh Doughty 7