Sheffield United Must Regroup For Play-off Campaign as Wilder Makes “Nonsense” Verdict After Burnley Loss | OneFootball

A hard-fought 2-1 loss at Turf Moor ended Sheffield United’s hopes of automatic promotion and confirmed Leeds United’s and Burnley’s place in the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Despite showing early promise, the Blades were ultimately undone by clinical finishing and disciplined defending from Scott Parker’s side.

Josh Brownhill Brace Ends Blades’ Automatic Promotion Dreams

BURNLEY, ENGLAND – APRIL 21: Josh Brownhill of Burnley scores his team’s second goal from the penalty-spot during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley FC and Sheffield United FC at Turf Moor on April 21, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

The game began brightly for United, who looked determined to keep their promotion hopes alive. But it was Burnley who struck first in the 28th minute. A costly slip from Burrows allowed Marcus Edwards to float in a dangerous cross. The delivery ricocheted off Moore and fell kindly for Josh Cullen. Although his first attempt was stopped by Michael Cooper, Clarets skipper Josh Brownhill made no mistake with the rebound, smashing it home to give the hosts a deserved lead in the 28th minute.

Sheffield United, however, responded swiftly. Just nine minutes later, a slick move involving Gustavo Hamer culminated in Tom Cannon lashing his first goal for the club into the roof of the net, silencing Turf Moor and restoring parity.

But Burnley reclaimed their advantage just before the break. Anel Ahmedhodzic’s mistimed challenge on Hannibal Mejbri inside the penalty area left the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Brownhill stepped up and calmly sent Cooper the wrong way, netting his second of the night to make it 2-1 at halftime.

The second half saw Burnley adopt a more conservative approach, content to protect their lead. Sheffield United nearly capitalised on the counter when Hamer and Cannon combined to set up Ben Brereton Diaz, but the forward blazed his shot agonisingly over the bar under pressure.

With time ticking away, Chris Wilder turned to his bench, introducing Tyrese Campbell, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, and Rhian Brewster in search of an equaliser. However, Burnley’s backline, which is statistically the best in the division, held firm, repelling waves of the Blades’ attacks to secure a crucial three points.

Sheffield United Boss on Promotion Setback: “We’ve Fallen a Little Bit Short”

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 28: Chris Wilder, manager of Sheffield United, look on before the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Coventry City FC at Bramall Lane on March 28, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Post-match, Chris Wilder, speaking to SUTV, acknowledged both the disappointment of the result and the broader progress made this season. “I thought we had a right go tonight,” Wilder said. “We created some good chances. The goals have killed us: two poor goals. We have to do better on the clearances and the penalty hands over the initiative to them, but we always looked like we could score. We just needed to make better decisions in and around the box and show a little bit more quality.”

Wilder addressed United’s failed attempt at achieving automatic promotion. “I’ve just been speaking to the players. I want us to get to 90 points. Congratulations to Daniel [Farke] and Scott [Parker] and their teams. For two sides to hit 100 points just shows the standard. We’re the third-best team in the division.”

He also reminded fans of the team’s evolution since last summer. “Everybody knows what happened last year. I remember going to Huddersfield a week before the season started and it was basically an under-21’s team with a few players added in. We’ve had to learn on the job. The season didn’t end here, it ended when we didn’t put Oxford to bed and you can’t go and get beat at Plymouth. Those are the games that have really cost us.”

He added: “Our younger players will learn from it; there’s players playing at the top end of the Championship for the first time that will learn from it – Harrison, Cooper, Femi, Sydie Peck, Jes, all those. We’ve fallen a little bit short. We’ve been the third best team in the division. I think from where we were at Huddersfield to taking it to 44 games, I think there would’ve been a small percentage of our supporters who would’ve thought we could get 90 points, and we still have a chance to do that.”

Wilder Ready to Make History With Sheffield United

Looking ahead, Wilder maintained a positive outlook about the upcoming play-off campaign, despite United’s awful play-off history in both the Championship and League One. “I don’t subscribe to the playoff nonsense,” he exclaimed. “This club will be here for another 100 years, 200 years, they will win play-off games and a play-off final. If nothing daft happens in the world there will be football in 150 years time and this club will still be here and still be fighting,  and there will be play-offs and play-offs success.”

Sheffield United can essentially treat these last two games as pre-season friendlies in order to keep their players’ fitness up as well as sharpness, while also mitigating injury risks to their star players. The first of these matches comes on Friday evening when the Blades face a trip to Stoke City, who recently got thrashed 6-0 by Leeds United.