Stoke City 1-2 Sheffield United: Blades See Off Late Stoke Scare For Three Points | OneFootball

Sheffield United managed to see out a slender 2-1 lead against the ten men of Stoke City at the Bet 365 Stadium on Monday evening.

The Blades broke the deadlock in the second half when Tyler Bindon’s poked effort from around the penalty spot was eventually bundled home by Jairo Riedewald. United soon doubled their advantage when a wonderfully worked short routine from a corner found Tom Cannon at the far post who produced a devastating first-time strike at the far post against his former club. Stoke piled on the pressure and made things shaky when Ben Wilmot scored from close range but the home side were later reduced to ten men.

Lineups

Stoke: Johansson, Thomas, Mubama (Cisse 57), Seko (Rigo 74), Nzonzi (Pearson 57) Wilmot, Lawal, Gallagher (Bozenik 57), Gibson, Phillips, Manhoef (Jun-Ho 57).

Unused: Bonham, Donley, Talovierov, Bickerton.

Blades: Cooper, Tanganga, Bindon, Cannon (McGuinness 86), O’Hare, Brooks (Chong 74), Burrows, Soumaré (Arblaster 74), Campbell (Bamford 74), Seriki, Riedewald (Matos 90).

Unused: A. Davies, McCallum, Hamer, Ings.

First Half

United started brightly and almost made the perfect opening after forcing an early corner. Sustained pressure followed, with Harrison Burrows freed in the area after neat build-up play involving Callum O’Hare and Tyrese Campbell, though Gibson was well positioned to avert the immediate danger. Moments later Burrows went close again, dragging a shot wide at the end of another dominant spell.

The Blades should have taken the lead soon after. Femi Seriki’s low cross from the right picked out an unmarked O’Hare on the penalty spot, but the midfielder blazed his effort high over the bar.

Chances continued to come at both ends. Gibson missed with a headed opportunity before Tatsuki Seko picked out Sorba Thomas at the back post, yet the winger headed straight at United goalkeeper Michael Cooper when he had time to control and pick his spot.

Second Half

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 29: Thomas Cannon of Sheffield United scores their second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Sheffield United at Bet365 Stadium on December 29, 2025 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Inside two minutes of the restart, United finally made their pressure count. Burrows’ free-kick was kept alive on a couple of occasions, and as a City defender attempted to clear Bindon’s low effort, the ball squirmed under Johansson and Jairo Riedewald poked home on the line to give the Blades the advantage.

Things got even better for United on 53 minutes. A cleverly worked short corner ended with Tom Cannon sweeping home at the back post from Burrows’ deep, inswinging cross to put the Blades firmly in control.

However, United’s vulnerability from crosses from the previous game resurfaced when they failed to clear their lines from a long throw, allowing Ben Wilmot to fire home off the underside of the bar on 65 minutes and give Stoke City renewed hope.

Pushing for an equaliser, Lawal drew a smart save from Cooper, who tipped the effort from the edge of the box over for a corner. At the other end, Johansson was at his best to deny Patrick Bamford on the break after a smart reverse pass from Burrows on the left.

The decisive moment came two minutes from time when Ben Pearson was shown a red card for pulling Bamford down just inside the Stoke half to deny a clear goal-scoring opportunity after a clipped ball forward from Burrows, effectively ending City’s hopes of a late comeback.

This result continues Sheffield United’s flip-flop trend over the Christmas period of wins and losses, meanwhile Stoke City have now lost five in their last seven.