Sheffield United fans craved it and Liverpool supporters feared it - but the ‘new manager bounce’ effect was nowhere to be seen at Bramall Lane. If anything, it all felt a bit flat on Chris Wilder’s return as his Blades side fell to a disappointing defeat against a sub-par Liverpool.
Wilder is a good man, an astute tactician and adept man motivator - but this match underlined the monumental mountain he must climb to keep his boyhood club in the Premier League after taking over from well-liked Paul Heckingbottom earlier this week.
It was a marked improvement from the drab mess at Turf Moor on Saturday, when Heckingbottom’s coffin was given one final nail after a 5-0 loss to Burnley, but United were toothless in attack and failed to punish several big mistakes from a sloppy Liverpool team.