Sheffield United 3-1 Middlesbrough: Blades Leave it Late to Secure Emphatic Win | OneFootball

Sheffield United secured an emphatic 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough to remain in second place in the Championship.

The Blades got the scoring underway in the first half when Jesurun Rak-Sakyi netted his sixth goal of the season. Shortly before the break, Middlesbrough equalised through a questionable penalty decision.

United had to wait until the 75th minute to nudge back in front, thanks to super sub Ben Brereton Diaz. And then the home side sealed the win after Anel Ahmedhodzic nodded home a Harrison Burrows corner with only a few minutes to spare.

Chris Wilder made three changes to the starting eleven as Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Callum O’Hare and Sydie Peck all come in, while Ben Brereton Diaz, Tyrese Campbell and Hamza Choudhury drop to the bench.

Lineups

Blades: Cooper, Hamer (McCallum 82), O’Hare, Rak-Sakyi (Brereton Diaz 67), Burrows (Davies 90), Ahmedhodzic, Clarke, Robinson, Souza, Cannon (Campbell 46), Peck (Choudhury 90).

Unused Subs: Faxon, Holding, Brewster, Brooks.

Middlesbrough: Travers, van den Berg, Hackney, Iheanacho (Conway 73), Burgzorg, Ayling, Morris (Forss 89), Azaz (Barlaser 55), Edmundson, Giles, Iling-Junior (Whittaker 73).

Unused Subs: Glover, Fry, Borges, Dede, McCabe.

First Half

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi of Sheffield United FC celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Middlesbrough FC at on February 12, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

The game started with Sheffield United on the front foot, as Rak-Sakyi tested Boro goalkeeper Mark Travers with an early effort in the sixth minute. Moments later, Gustavo Hamer almost caught Travers off guard with a dangerous inswinging corner, forcing the shot-stopper to scramble across and punch the ball off his line.

Hamer continued to dictate play and had the home fans on their feet with a brilliant piece of skill. The midfielder nutmegged Boro captain Luke Ayling before curling a 25-yard effort just wide of the far post.

The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute, with the outstanding Hamer at the heart of the move. He drove deep into Boro’s half and slipped O’Hare through on goal. As Boro defender Ryan Giles collided with his own goalkeeper Mark Travers while challenging O’Hare, the loose ball fell to Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who made no mistake in firing home.

Despite Sheffield United’s dominance, Middlesbrough found an equaliser just before half-time. Blades defender Jack Robinson was penalised for pulling down George Edmundson during a corner kick, but replays show it was a very soft call, and Delano Burgzorg confidently smashed home from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 heading into the break.

Second Half

Despite conceding against the run of play right before half-time, the Blades shot out of the traps in the second half as they looked for another go-ahead goal.

The home side struggled to carve out a real scoring opportunity in the second up until a wave of changes. One of those substitutions saw Jesurun Rak-Sakyi be replaced by Ben Brereton Diaz, and it was the Chilean who put the Blades ahead in the 75th minute after breaking away and finishing beyond Travers in front of the Kop end.

Every single United fan must’ve been fearing the worst in the 84th minute when Tyrese Campbell went through on goal and ignored a simple square pass to Brereton Diaz at the side of him for a tap in, but he chose to have a go himself and his shot was saved, only to for Boro to break dangerously themselves.

United and Campbell drew a sigh of relief in the 87th minute though when a towering header from Anel Ahmedhodzic met Harrison Burrows’ perfect header and flew into the net to give the Blades a deserving 3-1 victory.