Sheffield United 3-1 Leicester City: Blades Start 2026 With A Bang at Bramall Lane | OneFootball

Sheffield United dominated Leicester City from start to finish in a 3-1 victory at Bramall Lane to kick off 2026 with a bang.

United got the scoring underway when Japhet Tanganga connected with a first half corner under minimal pressure. The Blades extended their lead in the second half when Tom Cannon made it two goals in two games against back-to-back former clubs with a neat placed finish into the bottom left corner. Callum O’Hare added a third from close range after excellent work between Oliver Arblaster and Femi Seriki to work a crossing opportunity.

United were denied a clean sheet in the final moments when Jordan James let fly from distance and the ball rippled the bottom left corner in front of the away end.

Lineups

Blades: Cooper, Tanganga, McCallum (Burrows 85), Bindon, Cannon (Chong 85), O’Hare, Brooks (Hamer 75), Soumaré (Arblaster 85), Seriki, Riedewald, Bamford (Campbell 59).

Unused: A. Davies, Ings, Burrows, McGuinness, Matos.

Leicester: Stolarczyk, Nelson, Okoli, James, Fatawu, Mavididi (Monga 67), De Cordova-Reid (Page 67), Pereira, Skipp (Choudhury 57), S. Thomas (Ayew 57), L. Thomas.

Unused: Begovic, Daka, Vestergaard, Marcal, Aluko.

First Half

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Japhet Tanganga of Sheffield United heads the ball to score the opening goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United and Leicester City at Bramall Lane on January 01, 2026 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Harriet Massey/Getty Images)

United started on the front foot and almost made the perfect opening when Patrick Bamford met an early delivery on the volley, forcing Jakub Stolarczyk into a sharp save. The Blades continued to apply pressure, with Andre Brooks a constant menace down the right flank. Cutting inside with confidence, Brooks created two early openings for Bamford as Leicester struggled to settle.

From a subsequent corner, Brooks again found himself involved as City failed to fully clear their lines, the winger poking an attempted strike over the bar as United maintained their dominance. Leicester were pinned back for long spells, unable to cope with the Blades’ intensity and set-piece threat.

The breakthrough arrived on 36 minutes and was fully deserved. Sam McCallum whipped in an inviting inswinging corner, and Japhet Tanganga timed his run to perfection, rising above former Blade Luke Thomas to power a header beyond the helpless Stolarczyk.

Leicester’s response was minimal. Their only notable effort of the half came via a speculative 35-yard strike from Abdul Fatawu, which failed to trouble Michael Cooper.

Second Half

United doubled their advantage soon after the break. Brooks showed excellent perseverance to outmuscle Thomas once more before picking out Tom Cannon, who finished superbly with a low drive beyond Stolarczyk in front of the Kop.

The visitors attempted to build momentum after the break, piecing together some promising attacks, but they never seriously threatened a comeback and failed to register a single shot on target for much of the contest.

United always looked the more likely to add to their tally, and after Djibril Soumare diverted one effort wide, the third goal duly arrived. Callum O’Hare found the net, with Femi Seriki providing the assist after a perfectly weighted pass by Arblaster to cap off another impressive home performance.

Leicester did manage a late consolation in the second minute of stoppage time, when substitute Jordan Ayew teed up James to fire past Cooper with the help of a small deflection, but it did little to change the narrative of the match.