Muniz has Blades in tears again
WHEN Oli McBurnie fired home at the Kop end in the 82nd minute, Bramall Lane erupted and Sheffield United looked on course for a much-needed victory.
The raucous celebrations were soon cut short, though, as a strike that would have put Chris Wilder’s side 4-1 up was checked by VAR.
Replays showed Blades midfielder Vini Souza was marginally offside and the goal was ruled out, prompting a staggering shift in momentum.
Fulham scored soon after through substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid and then, in the third minute of 14 minutes added time, Rodrigo Muniz produced a stunning scissor-kick to level.
It felt cruel on the struggling hosts and Fulham might even have pilfered all the points late on as United almost contrived to lose a game they should have won.
After being so badly humbled in their three previous Premier League home games, this was a day for the Blades to stand their ground and they did just that.
A 6-0 hamering at the hands of Arsenal at Bramall Lane, which followed successive 5-0 thumpings by Aston Villa and Brighton, caused serious embarrassment.
Here their pride was restored on home soil, even if Muniz’s touch of class — the Brazilian’s eighth goal in as many games — ensured honours ended even.
Wilder said: ‘We knew the narrative about us — the home form, goals conceded and being out of the game after 25 minutes — so we had to make sure we did something about it.
‘My overriding emotion is disappointment, which has possibly happened four or five times. We have to turn the one point into three and the zeroes into one.
‘Three goals at home should be enough to win a game in the Premier League.’
Muniz hit the woodwork either side of the break, but the Blades took the lead when McBurnie broke down the left flank and his superb low cross was lashed home by Ben Brereton Diaz.
Fulham levelled in the 62nd minute when midfielder Joao Palhinha headed in Andreas Pereira’s corner.
Yet United, who handed a first Premier League home start to midfielder Oliver Arblaster, came back strongly again when Brereton Diaz’s neat cut-back was tapped in by McBurnie.
Remarkably, it was 3-1 in the 68th minute when Brereton Diaz headed in Gus Hamer’s left-wing cross before clashing with Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
That led to a VAR check for a possible red card, but no action was taken. After McBurnie was denied a fourth by VAR, Cottagers substitute Cordova-Reid fired in from Tom Cairney’s pass to cut United’s lead, only a minute after replacing Pereira.
Then, in the third minute of an extended period of added-time, substitute Adama Traore crossed from the right and Muniz’s spectacular volley flew in.
Cottagers’ boss Marco Silva said: ‘It’s a disappointing result for us, but the reaction of the team was fantastic because we refused to lose it. We felt the score was really unfair and was also our fault, but we showed quality to come back.
‘We could even have won it with the last kick from Cairney.’