Oxford United saw their poor form continue on Tuesday night with a 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United.
The U’s were outclassed by their former manager at Bramall Lane, who moved to the top of the Championship as a result.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Oxford United Lose at Sheffield United
Line-up and Formation
With the Oxford United backline being depleted with injuries in recent weeks, there was a welcome return to fitness for some of the club’s wingers. As a result, Des Buckingham reverted back to a 4-3-3 formation at Bramall Lane.
Jamie Cumming started in goal behind a makeshift back four of Greg Leigh, Ciaron Brown, Sam Long and Hidde ter Avest.
Will Vaulks started the holding role with Cameron Brannagan and Ruben Rodrigues ahead of him.
Przemyslaw Placheta was handed his first start after returning from injury with Tyler Goodrham on the opposing side, and Dane Scarlett up top in place of Mark Harris.
Wingers
And you can see why Buckingham prefers this system. In the first half, Placheta was arguably the best player in yellow, attacking at pace, twisting and turning and causing problems for the Blades’ backline.
Unfortunately, it was a quiet and frustrating night for Goodrham on the other flank, but being booked wouldn’t have helped his confidence.
Despite the pair having moments in attack, both struggled defensively and added further pressure on ter Avest and Leigh, respectively.
Matt Phillips and Owen Dale came on in the second half and it was a similar story. Both looked lively in the final third, albeit without an end product, but they struggled to support their full-backs when defending.
Sheffield United’s Quality Too Much for Oxford United
Like at Sunderland and last time out against Middlesbrough, sometimes you just need to hold your hands up and accept that you’re the second-best team on the field.
Sheffield United didn’t need to get out of second gear but Oxford made it look easy for their opponents, with simple mistakes and uncharacteristic errors leading to goals.
The Blades were also deadly on the counter-attack, with Oxford looking sluggish and slow for the most part in the defensive area.
However, it’s important to add that seven of Oxford’s starting line-up were playing League One football last season, along with three of their five substitutes, while Chris Wilder has a squad capable of an immediate return to the Premier League.
