Oli McBurnie grabbed a deserved point for Sheffield United after Manchester United had staged an unfathomable comeback in a breathless 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane.
Three goals in seven crazy second-half minutes saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead before substitute McBurnie capped off a superb game with a 90th-minute equaliser - which stood despite a nail-biting VAR check for the home fans.
John Fleck and Lys Mousset gave the Blades a deserved 2-0 lead before Brandon Williams produced an excellent moment of finesse to pull a goal back out of nowhere inside the last 20 minutes.
Youngster Mason Greenwood then drew the sides level just five minutes later to set-up a grandstand finish, and Marcus Rashford completed the amazing comeback with goal of real quality just a further two minutes after, before McBurnie grabbed a fully deserved point.
Solskjaer's side were woeful in the extreme throughout the first two-thirds of the game, and Chris Wilder's Blades should have been out of sight before the visitors produced a scarcely believable fightback that seemed inconceivable with the way they were playing.
📽️ Mousset doubled the lead for @SheffieldUnited - and they fully deserve it!
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) November 24, 2019
⚔️ Nice finish as well...#SUFC #MUFC #SHUMUN pic.twitter.com/b5EdWwgSPM
Sheffield United were first to everything, played with pace and purpose and looked for all money to be coasting to three points, but once the visitors got a goal out of nowhere, their front three finally showed what they are capable of by conjuring up a comeback that may have just saved their manager's job, despite McBurnie having the final say.
Blades looking sharper
It's was a feverish start from the hosts and they should have been in front after just ten minutes when De Gea was forced into making a fine double save when first John Lundstram curled in a low shot that the Spaniard palmed away.
From the resulting cross, David McGoldrick had acres of space to plant his header goalwards, but his effort was too close to De Gea and at a nice height for him to fend it off one-handed from close range.
The Blades took a deserved lead after Mousset bullied Jones off the ball and squared the ball for Lundstram, and when his effort was saved by the foot of De Gea the rebound hit Fleck's knee and bobbled into the corner.
McGoldrick and Lunstram had further chances as somehow Manchester United got to the break just one goal behind, and Solskjaer wasted no time in dragging Jones off during the interval - although it had little immediate effect.
Just seven minutes of the second half had gone when Fleck slid a beautiful ball through a gaping hole in the visiting defence for Mousset who gathered before driving a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
The one-way traffic continued until the game hit a quiet period, when out of nowhere Williams fired the Red Devils back into the game with a fantastic half-volley with his wrong foot at the back post with 18 minutes left to play.
Greenwood then slid in to poke home Rashford's fine cross before Rashford himself finished off a brilliant move involving Martial and James to cap off the three-goal salvo in just seven minutes.
To their immense credit, the Blades kept battling and McBurnie kept the last-minute goal he stabbed home despite a lengthy VAR check for a possible handball by him just before finishing.
Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United Opta stats
- Manchester United have avoided defeat in 25 Premier League games when losing by two or more goals, three more than any other side.
- This was the highest-scoring Premier League draw since April (Southampton 3-3 Bournemouth) and the first 3-3 involving Manchester United since January 2016, when they drew 3-3 with Newcastle United.
- Sheffield United were the first newly-promoted team to score three goals against Manchester United in a Premier League game since Leicester City won 5-3 in September 2014.
- Manchester United had two teenagers (Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood) score in a Premier League match for the first time since October 2005 against Sunderland (Wayne Rooney and Giuseppe Rossi).
- Lys Mousset has scored more goals in 10 Premier League appearances for Sheffield United (4) than he managed in 58 appearances for Bournemouth (3).
- Sheffield United have benefitted from more goals from substitutes in the Premier League this season than any other side (five).
- Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has been involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League appearances against newly-promoted opponents (4 goals, 4 assists).
- Sheffield United’s John Fleck has scored as many goals in his 11 Premier League appearances this season as he managed in 45 games in the Championship last season (two).
- Manchester United haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last 12 away league matches, their worst run since going 15 without one between September 1985 and April 1986.
- Phil Jagielka made his first Premier League start for Sheffield United since May 2007, a gap of 4,578 days – the only player to have a longer gap between starts for a club is Wayne Rooney for Everton between 2004 and 2017 (4,837 days).
