Sheffield United rout deals Chelsea huge Champions League blow

A David McGoldrick brace helped Sheffield United take a significant step towards European football and dealt Chelsea’s top-four hopes a blow as they beat the Blues 3-0 at Bramall Lane.

Oli McBurnie completed the scoring on a miserable afternoon for Frank Lampard’s men, who saw plenty of the ball but were unable to break down the organised Blades and comprehensively outplayed.

McGoldrick’s first Premier League goal opened the scoring - he reacted quickest after Kepa Arrizabalaga had done well to save a deflected McBurnie volley to end his goal drought from close range in his 26th top-flight appearance.

McBurnie then added a second before the interval, heading in at the near post following nice team move but one which cut Chelsea open too easily.

Lampard made two changes at the break and switched to a back three but to no avail, with the introduction of Olivier Giroud later the only Chelsea change which looked like it could result in a goal, but it didn't.

McGoldrick goals then turned out to be like apocryphal London busses as he added a third on the break late on to secure another marquee win for Chris Wilder’s United and leave Chelsea in danger of dropping out of the top four by Monday evening. They stay third, while the Blades are up to sixth.

Lampard’s Chelsea will win nothing with this soft underbelly. The goals Chelsea conceded were painfully cheap from their perspective, and what will be most frustrating is that there were plenty of blue shirts in the vicinity of both McBurnie and McGoldrick when they scored with relative ease. For all the talk of this being a youthful, new-look side, Chelsea have also conceded too many goals this season; 49 is more than any other team in the top half of the Premier League. Lampard has generally got a free pass for his team’s shortcomings and most would accept that this was always going to be a developmental season for Chelsea, but it must be concerning that he has not been able to fix a leaky defence even with a plenty of experience in the backline. The Blues already cannot match last season’s tally of 72 points precisely because they have conceded too many goals and this must be a worry, given a porous defence is more often than not the product of poor management.

David McGoldrick (Sheffield United). He has huffed and puffed all season long and now has some goals to show for it. His trademark link-up play and work-rate were both impressive again today and, along with McBurnie and then Lys Mousset later on, the Sheffield United strikers gave Chelsea's defenders no chance to relax.

Sheffield United: Henderson 7, Baldock 7, Basham 7, Egan 8, O’Connell 7, Stevens 7, Berge 7, Norwood 7, Osborn 7, McGoldrick 8, McBurnie 8. Subs: Mousset 6, Lundstram 7, Jagielka 7.

Chelsea: Kepa 6, James 5, Zouma 5, Christensen 5, Azpilicueta 6, Jorginho 5, Barkley 5, Mount 5, Willian 5, Abraham 5, Pulisic 6. Subs: Alonso 6, Rudiger 5, Giroud 7, Hudson-Odoi 5, Loftus-Cheek 5.

18’ - GOAL! Sheffield United 1-0 Chelsea (McGoldrick). He's finally got his goal! Baldock goes past Mount too easily and has time to chip a cross back across the box, where McBurnie is waiting. Kepa does well to save his deflected volley, but McGoldrick reacts quickest to the tap home the rebound.

32’ - GOAL! Sheffield United 2-0 Chelsea (McBurnie). Good hold-up play from an isolated McBurnie wins his team a set piece in the Chelsea half. They take it short, work an overlap for Stevens down the left, and his pinpoint cross is met at the near post by McBurnie, who heads home to double the lead!

73’ - CHANCE! And Chelsea's best so far, but Abraham can't convert. Rudiger flicks on a corner and the ball reaches Abraham at the back post, but, off balance, he can't divert goalwards.

77’ - GOAL! Sheffield United 3-0 Chelsea (McGoldrick). He has another! McGoldrick leads a counter-attack, although doesn't play the finest of passes to Mousset. Forced wide, Mousset crosses and Rudiger scuffs a clearance into the path of McGoldrick, who slots the ball into the net.

82’ - CHANCE! An aimless Hudson-Odoi cross is cleared and McGoldrick is soon on the ball and able to release Mousset, but, one-on-one with Kepa, he chips wide.