The fact is that United were never equipped personnel-wise for the challenge of the Premier League.
The brittle Blades defence turned to dust once more against a Burnley side who have now put nine goals past Wilder’s side in two meetings this season. That makes 88 in all in the league now.
Assignon’s 40th-minute goal, two minutes after Bruun Larsen’s deflected shot had given the visitors the lead, amounted to a red and white-striped sea parting.
The Frenchman picked the ball up wide out on the right, slipped between a bamboozled Ben Brereton Diaz and Ben Osborn before firing home through Auston Trusty’s legs.
Dutchman Gustavo Hamer pulled a goal back for United in the 52nd minute with a measured finish from the Dutchman but Lyle Foster’s 57th-minute goal after more good work on the right from Assignon restored Burnley’s cushion.
After Gudmundsson’s fourth – less than a minute after coming off the bench – United looked like they could not wait for the last 20 minutes to be over.
When you are down, the gods of football tend to put the boot in and that was the case with Larsen’s opener.
Wilson Odobert drove powerfully into United territory and when his blocked shot fell at the feet of the Dane on the left-hand side of the penalty area, his first-time strike took a big deflection off Jayden Bogle and crawled in slow motion past the wrong-footed Ivo Grbic.
It was an in-off which would not have looked out of place across the city at The Crucible.
Arijanet Muric, after a sketchy fortnight in the Burnley goal, also pulled off some fine stops from James McAtee and Oli McBurnie. But the Blades were just as much the authors of their own downfall.
As for Burnley, beaten only once in their last seven games, where there is life, there is hope.
Vincent Kompany’s men have a difficult run-in with a home game against Newcastle sandwiched in between trips to Manchester United and Spurs but if they can take it to the last game of the season and Nottingham Forest’s visit to Turf Moor, Kompany feels they can pull off the great escape.
“All we need is an opportunity. We don’t need much more than that. Hopefully we can take it to the end,” he said.
“Especially in the first year up we were going to have to fight but we’re showing we can play with no fear. There’s no reason for us not to feel that if we put in a performance we can’t get a result. The other teams we can’t control.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
