Sheffield United 1-3 Leeds United: Blades Collapse And Hand Leeds All Three Points Late On | OneFootball

Sheffield United came unstuck late on against Leeds United as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Bramall Lane.

The Blades took the lead in the first half through an Illan Meslier own goal after a great start from the home side. But, the league leaders continued to push and eventually forced United to cave in. Junior Firpo got the equaliser in the 72nd minute before Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe scored within a couple of minutes of each other to seal a 3-1 win for Leeds.

Chris Wilder named Gustavo Hamer, Tom Cannon and Kieffer Moore on the bench for this top of the table clash.

Lineups

Blades: Cooper, O’Hare (Moore 90), Rak-Sakyi (Hamer 59), Burrows, Ahmedhodzic, Clarke (Choudhury 46), Robinson, Brereton Diaz (Davies 72), Souza, Campbell (Cannon 59), Peck.

Subs: Faxon, McCallum, Holding, Brewster.

Leeds: Meslier, Bogle (Byram 92), Firpo, Struijk, Rodon, James, Piroe, Aaronson (Joseph 59), Solomon (Gnonto 83), Tanaka, Gruev (Rothwell 59).

Subs: Darlow, Ramazani, Guilavogui, Schmidt, Debayo.

First Half

The game started with high intensity and the Blades pushing the league leaders. Leeds goalkeeper Meslier had a moment to forget early on. A corner from Sydie Peck almost resulted in a calamitous own goal, but Ilia Gruev was alert to clear the ball off the line.

However, just minutes later, Meslier made a crucial save to deny Callum O’Hare’s powerful header from a Ben Brereton Diaz cross, only to see the rebound fall to Tyrese Campbell. In an unfortunate sequence, Meslier’s touch on Campbell’s effort sent the ball onto the post before rolling over the line, giving Sheffield United a 14th-minute lead.

Chris Wilder’s men were playing like a team possessed, playing with great energy, and they perhaps should’ve done better when Peck broke into acres of space towards the edge of the box only to produce a weak low effort centre of goal.

As the half went on, Leeds United began to grow into the game and started creating half chances themselves, but with that, the atmosphere changed at Bramall Lane.

Second Half

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Junior Firpo of Leeds United scores his teams first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Leeds United FC at Bramall Lane on February 24, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Despite a frustrating first half, Leeds regrouped and came out with renewed energy after the interval.

Junior Firpo had a sighter on the hour mark but his headed effort sailed over the bar.

Dan James woke up in the second interval and it was his persistence that led to the equaliser. James delivered a pinpoint cross into the box, where Firpo again rose highest this time guiding his header past Michael Cooper in the 72nd minute, bringing the Whites level.

United’s heads dropped and so did their energy levels. Meanwhile, Leeds kept pushing for a winner, and their efforts paid off in the closing moments.

A late introduction, Wilfried Gnonto thought he found the go-ahead goal as his curling effort from the left angle of the box looked to be dropping into the top corner, but an outstanding save from Cooper tipped it over the bar.

From the resulting corner, with just a minute of normal time remaining, Firpo was again involved, flicking on a corner that found Ao Tanaka, who nodded home from a few yards out to complete the turnaround.

Sheffield United barely had time to react before Leeds struck again. Straight from the restart, Joel Piroe unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the box, beating Cooper and putting the result beyond doubt.