Newcastle United demolish Sheffield United 8-0
Newcastle United mercilessly defeated Sheffield United 8-0 at Bramall Lane on Sunday, with eight different players scoring to drop the home team to the bottom of the Premier League table.
In the rout, Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almiron, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak all scored. Sheffield United had only one point from their first six games, dropping them to the bottom of the table on goal difference.
The win marked Newcastle’s biggest away win and the Blades’ heaviest loss. Eddie Howe’s side also became the first in Premier League history to have eight different goal scorers in a single game, moving them up to eighth place in the table.
Newcastle showed no indications of a hangover after their first Champions League game in 20 years, a goalless draw against AC Milan, and established a 3-0 lead by halftime before switching gears in the second half to set a new record.
“We shared them [goals] around a bit today. I thought we were really good from the start and when the goals came I felt the confidence in the team returned,” Howe told Sky Sports.
“The big thing for us was that we really wanted to score and we weren’t content with three. I want that mentality to run through the team.”
The Blades started well, giving the home supporters hope, but Newcastle took the lead when early replacement Anthony Gordon maintained the ball in play on the goal line and found Sean Longstaff, who blasted home.
Newcastle increased their advantage at the half-hour mark when Dan Burn, despite having his shirt ripped, raced away from his opponent and headed in Kieran Trippier’s cross at the far post.
Sven Botman sent a glancing header into the back of the goal four minutes later, after Trippier provided another set piece, this time from a free kick.
When the English fullback found space on the right side and crossed the ball for Callum Wilson to head home from close range, it was his third assist of the game and his first from open play.
Just after the hour mark, Gordon curled in Newcastle’s fifth from beyond the box, prompting Blades fans to flee, before Miguel Almirón spun circles around the defense to net Newcastle’s sixth with aid from Bruno Guimares.
Guimaraes then scored himself after a rebound dropped sweetly to him in the area, and he hammered home, before replacement Alexander Isak sealed the thrashing with a late strike.
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom said his team needed to learn from the defeat.
“It’s the nature of the performance that we’re upset about… We can’t afford to put ourselves behind in that fashion if we want to compete,” Heckingbottom said.
“It’s the second half that I’m upset with. Regardless of the errors which led to goals, we need to make sure we learn from that. A lot of things I saw in the second half, I’ve never seen here.
“These games are not going to define our season. It’s about accumulating points. While there are huge things we have to learn from, we also have to keep a calm head about this sort of game.”
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – ANTHONY GORDON (NEWCASTLE)
Gordon, who came in after 12 minutes with the game tied at 0-0 to replace the injured Harvey Barnes, was outstanding from the time he stepped onto the pitch. He did brilliantly to set up Longstaff’s goal, which started the game, and he scored his own goal in the second half, which was the finest of the evening. He was a continuous menace to the Blades’ defense, giving them nightmares.
