Chris Wilder makes surprising Bristol City admission after Sheffield United’s ‘disappointing’ draw, Liam Manning will be happy

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Sheffield United dropped points in their pursuit of the Championship title thanks to a late, late goal from Bristol City, and Chris Wilder’s reaction has taken us all by surprise.

After another hectic and unpredictable weekend in the Championship, Sheffield United were gifted the opportunity to go to the top of the table after Leeds’ shock defeat to Portsmouth.

Beating Bristol City would pile immense pressure on Leeds, who face Millwall later tonight. But, as Chris Wilder said before the game, anything can happen in the Championship, and the league did not disappoint on Tuesday night.

The Blades took the lead through another Tyrese Campbell goal just after the hour-mark, but they were pegged back in the 90th minute by a Mark Sykes goal to see both teams share the spoils at Bramall Lane.

• READ MORE: Chris Wilder sweating on Sheffield United trio ahead of Steel City derby with bad news for Bristol City clash

Chris Wilder admits Bristol City deserved a draw

Speaking to the press (via The Star) after the game, Wilder, who is so often stubborn and staunch in the defence of his players, wasted no time in highlighting the fact that, actually, Bristol City deserved their point on the night.

He said: “We looked leggy and lethargic. The goal is disappointing to give away, the timing and the number of mistakes we made. The first and second clearance, a player trying to flick it around the corner and we don’t get tight and they find a finish. I don’t think it was anything they [City] didn’t deserve.

“They controlled the game in the first half and had the threat of [Sinclair] Armstrong. Our midfield sat too deep and they caused us problems, even though we had the best chances. We made a couple of changes and wrestled the control, scored ourselves a great goal and then we were okay but not dominant.

“Physically when you lack energy you make some poor decisions and in the performance there were more fives and sixes than sevens or eights. And they had more sevens and eights than fives and sixes.”

Liam Manning will surely be pleased to hear that his side had United on the ropes, and the point keeps Bristol City in with an outside shot of making the play-offs come the end of the season.

Sheffield United had as many as four penalty calls dismissed by referee Stephen Martin, but even that wasn’t enough to get Wilder on the defensive.

“I don’t think there was anything in any of those decisions,” he said when asked about the incidents. “I thought the referee was consistent, he’s a good referee and he got in my opinion everything spot on. There was just a frustration from our point of view at the end.”

Chris Wilder on his best behaviour? Something isn’t right. Maybe he’s just saving himself for the weekend.

• READ MORE: Sheffield Wednesday fans hail ‘ridiculously underrated’ player after heroics in thrilling win vs Norwich City

Will that be a good point for Sheffield United, or will it cost them dearly?

On the one hand, this is another point for the Blades, against a very good team, and it takes them top of the Championship table for at least 24 hours. The mental edge that could give United is huge.

But, at the same time, they will be kicking themselves for not holding on to that lead and slipping up in the last minute of normal time. It’s uncharacteristically sloppy from Wilder’s side, and they’ll need to fix that as soon as possible.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	37	24	7	6	52	28	24	77
2	LeedsLeeds	36	22	10	4	72	23	49	76
3	BurnleyBurnley	37	20	15	2	50	11	39	75
4	SunderlandSunderland	37	19	12	6	55	34	21	69
5	West BromWest Brom	37	13	17	7	47	33	14	56
6	CoventryCoventry	37	16	8	13	52	48	4	56

Of course, all eyes will now be on Leeds United to see if they can get the win they need against Millwall tonight and head back to the summit.

But, for Sheffield United, their attention will soon be turned firmly onto Sunday’s Steel City derby, with far more than three points and the Championship title at stake; far more important are the pride and bragging rights up for grabs at Hillsborough this weekend.