A sensational scissor kick from Rodrigo Muniz completed a fabulous Fulham fightback as the Whites battled back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 at rock bottom Sheffield United this afternoon.
The Blades looked set for only their fourth league win of the season when Ben Brereton Diaz punished some comical defending to bag a brace and played in his strike partner Oli McBurnie for a third. Crucially, McBurnie had a potential second ruled out by VAR for offside against Vinicius Sousa – giving Fulham feint hope of a comeback.
That the visitors were so far adrift would have been a surprise to anyone who witnessed Marco Silva’s side utterly dominate the first half. Muniz went closest to breaking the deadlock but saw his snapshot pushed onto the post by Ivo Grbic seven minutes before half time. The Brazilian hit the woodwork again early in the second half when a far post header from Andreas Pereira’s bounced off the hear post to safety.
The Blades took the lead against the run of play just before the hour mark. Ben Osborn intercepted a poor pass from Tosin Adarabioyo and released McBurnie down the left flank. Brereton Diaz gleefully buried the Scottish striker’s ball across the box to the delight of the home fans.
But United’s lead lasted barely four minutes. Joao Palhinha escaped the attention of his marker to head home a Pereira corner – only for Fulham to lose the plot at the back once more. They conceded two soft goals in the space of two minutes. The Cottagers were caught unawares when a quick free kick allowed Brereton Diaz to set up McBurnie from close range and the Bramall Lane regulars were in dreamland when Brereton Diaz headed Gus Hamer’s inch perfect cross past Bernd Leno to make it 3-1.
Fulham looked dead and buried – but substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid set up a grandstand finish by lashing home Tom Cairney’s cute pass after a superb surging run from the skipper with four minutes to play. Muniz made his mark four minutes into an unfathomable fourteen minutes of stoppage time when he conjured up an astonishingly acrobatic equaliser from Adama Traoré’s cross. Cairney had the chance to steal all three pointsvat the death but shot straight at the goalkeeper as this unexpectedly epic encounter ended all square.
SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Grbic; Holgate, Ahmedhozic, J. Robinson; Bogle, Osborn, Sousa (Trusty 85), Hamer, Arblaster (Norwood 85); McBurnie (McAtee 90), Brereton Diaz. Subs (not used): Foderingham, Slimane, Larouci, Curtis, Osula, Brooks.
BOOKED: Holgate, Norwood, Hamer, Bogle.
GOALS: Brereton Diaz (58, 70), McBurnie (68).
FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne (Tete 85), A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Bassey; Palhinha, Lukic (Traore 63): Iwobi (Cairney 74), Willian, Pereira (De Cordova-Reid 85); Muniz. Subs (not used): Rodak, Ream, Reed, Wilson.
BOOKED: Bassey.
GOALS: Palhinha (62), De Cordova-Reid (86), Muniz (90+3).
REFEREE: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).
ATTENDANCE: 30,010.
We struggled to break down a very negative Sheffield team who seemed to be relying on nicking a goal from a set play. Either that or they were waiting for Tosin to doze off which he duly did. Their second goal was a result of our defence going to sleep again.
Thought the subs made a big difference as we needed TC’s guile to break them down. (Maybe he should have started this one?) Traore’s pace and strength gave them all sorts of problems too. All three goals showed great skill and Muniz’s was worth the admission price on its own. Just a shame Cairney couldn’t have finished the job right at the death. A foot either side of the keeper and he’d have scored
Not sure the 14 mins was ‘unfathomable’
2 big VAR incidents, 8 substitutions, as well lengthy stops for the collision, cramp, plus plenty of time wasting
Didn’t matter in the end though as +3 minutes was what mattered
On afternoons like this, it is very difficult to imagine Tosin holding a starting place in a Champion League playing side, like he envisions. If I were him, I would sign on the dotted line and keep improving at Fulham before making the big headed move.
I will ignore the awful mistakes. Tosin?! However, I will savour an excellent display of grit and determination. Plus good use of subs. Win, lose or draw that’s what football is all about, excellent game.
You get 14 minutes overtime when the referee clocks that too many players are going down in agony clutching their heads only to recover after a couple of minutes. Good game management from the referee.
Don’t understand why Tosin is getting stick here. The real culprit was Robinson, guilty of ballwatching for all three goals as Brerton Diaz ghosted by him unmarked for his two goals and flatted foot for the second.
Have to say I thought Tosin was unbelievably poor. The mistake for the first goal completely changed the tone of the whole contest – and it came from him dangerously underhitting a simple ball out from the back. I hate to say it but I’m not sure he’s as good as he thinks he is.