Sheffield United vs Tottenham: Five things we learned as Oli McBurnie shines and Jose Mourinho seethes

Sheffield United ran out impressive and comfortable 3-1 winners over Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday night.

Both sides had half-chances in the opening stages, but Sander Berge showed a real moment of quality to turn in the box and strike home a low opener just after the half-hour mark.

Harry Kane then had a strike ruled out by VAR within a minute of the restart, leaving the Blades ahead at the break.

Lys Mousset then tapped in a second off the bench, Kane had two more efforts correctly ruled out and Oli McBurnie crashed in a third, to send Sheffield United back above Spurs and into seventh in the table, despite Kane’s late consolation.

Here are five things we learned from the game at Bramall Lane.

19/20’s worst VAR call?

Berge scored for the home side, thought it looked as if the lead had lasted only seconds, as Steven Bergwijn blazed a trail through the centre of the park, got a fortuitous bounce of the ball toward Harry Kane and he scuffed in a left-footed finish.

Two minutes of deliberation later and Jose Mourinho was fuming on the touchline; as Bergwijn was bundled to ground—surely a foul in the normal course of events—the ball was whacked against him from two yards away in an attempted clearance and rebounded to Kane—apparently off the Dutchman’s arm.

No longer does intent (or even awareness) come into the reckoning. Any touch of the ball by an arm in the build-up to a goal is, by the new law, a foul, so Kane’s goal was rightly chalked off—but by all sporting fairness and common footballing sense, it feels incredible that, somehow, Tottenham are penalised from that situation.

And, are we absolutely sure it hit the arm? There’s at least a few angles on the replays which suggest the clearance clattered Bergwijn’s side or back, instead.

Blades arrest form slide

A draw and two losses were not the ideal way to resume Premier League action for a Sheffield United side who had surprised everyone in the first 30 games of the season.

Talk of “second-season syndrome” setting in early had arisen in some quarters, so this performance and result was a perfect response.

Chris Wilder has always demanded quality to go with the bog-standard work ethic, and he certainly got both in this 90 minutes.

Oli McBurnie utterly bullied the Tottenham defence, showed great movement between the lines and spreading play, while Berge won possession relentlessly in the middle and John Egan defended resolutely throughout.

An exemplary team performance and successful tactical plan.

Dele Alli loses out

Pre-lockdown, Mourinho’s complaints and reasons for poor form were that he was shorn of attacking outlets: no No. 9 with Kane injured, no supply line with Bergwijn, Moussa Sissoko and others absent.

Now all of them are back and Spurs are still struggling for elements of cohesion in the final third, so the manager will have to come up with answers quickly.

The biggest question mark appears to be over Dele Alli: suspended against Manchester United, subbed first against West Ham with the scores level, left on the bench here.

Considering the England international was thought to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Mourinho’s arrival last year, it’ll be a bit of a concern that he still doesn’t even have a fixed role in the team and his productivity still appears well below what he’s capable of.

Questions in both boxes

It’s worth noting that Kane did twice put the ball in the net in the second half before his goal which actually counted, but only after the whistle had long gone in each case: an obvious offside and a clear push.

Those non-efforts aside, Spurs did not have a shot between the 46th minute and the 89th, despite trailing in the match for all that time.

Kane does not look anywhere near fully sharp yet, and those behind him certainly didn’t contribute enough either.

And it’s not just that penalty box which is the concern, given the way Mousset was allowed to stand in the six-yard box, goal-side of two Spurs defenders, without being troubled in the slightest.

All three United goals came as a result of static defenders not marking players who were simply stood, alone, in the box.

Champions League hopes fade

Both sides were in the running for a top-five finish when the Premier League restarted, which of course carries a Champions League post this season if Man City’s ban is upheld.

After this game, it appears they are both out of the running.

Three points were vital for the Blades to get back on track, but one point from three games before that have been limiting factors on European aspirations.

Spurs should have been in the hunt, but needed to win here to prove they could keep pace with in-form Man United and Wolves.

Instead they are seven points off the pace and with games running out, they’ll have to aim for Europa League at best.