Sheffield United and Coventry City player ratings as 9/10 Blades ace haunts his former side with dazzling display

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Coventry City travelled to Bramall Lane and lost 3-1 against Chris Wilder and Sheffield United, in a potentially season-defining result for Frank Lampard’s side.

Playing first represented a massive opportunity for both sides, with Sheffield United coming out on top against Coventry City, thus piling the pressure onto Burnley and Leeds United to take keep up and hold their nerve.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
2	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	38	25	7	6	53	28	25	80
3	BurnleyBurnley	38	21	15	2	52	11	41	78
4	SunderlandSunderland	38	19	12	7	55	37	18	69
5	CoventryCoventry	38	17	8	13	55	48	7	59
6	West BromWest Brom	38	13	18	7	48	34	14	57
7	Bristol CityBristol City	38	14	15	9	49	41	8	57

Heading into the game, the pair were separated by 21 points in the promotion race, with the final seven games left for each to achieve their goal. The automatic promotion run-in and play-off run-in are both now underway in the final five weeks of Championship action.

The play-off battle involves numerous teams and is as exciting and intense as ever, meaning there is little margin for error and Frank Lampard’s side failed to pass this particular test in South Yorkshire.

• READ MORE: Sheffield United ace names the club that he would ‘really like to end up at’, it’d be ‘great’

Sheffield United player ratings against Coventry

Sheffield United had players like Gus Hamer and Callum O’Hare looking to prove a point, which the former certainly did. However, he was not the player Chris Basham was most impressed with on a big night for Wilder against Lampard.

Michael Cooper — 7

As solid and assured as ever in goal, with Blades No.1 commanding his area well but largely untested outside of a frustrating consolation.

Femi Seriki — 8

A solid performance all round and an excellent assist for Sheffield United’s primary centre-forward.

Anel Ahmedhodzic — 7

Rarely did either central defender have much to do, with the Bosnian comfortable for the majority of the game against the in-form Haji Wright.

Jack Robinson — 7

Jack Robinson marshalled and organised when he needed to, but his defensive midfield pivot screened him well.

Harrison Burrows — 7

Some of his link-up play was excellent with his midfield and wing combinations getting the Blades up the pitch.

Sydie Peck — 8

Outstanding at both moving the ball forward quickly and mopping up in front of his defence all night.

Hamza Choudhury — 8

Robust and aggressive when needed, he snuffed out plenty of danger in and around the Sheffield United box. A brick wall for the Blades.

Ben Brereton-Diaz — 7

A tidy assist capped a solid night for the Chilean from Stoke.

Rhian Brewster — 8

Not as involved as some of his other forward players in the first half, but a well-taken goal at just the right time to kill the game.

Gus Hamer — 9

It had to be him, didn’t it? The free-kick was a thing of beauty and his former employers couldn’t keep him quiet all game.

Tyrese Campbell — 9

His energetic, darting runs in behind were a constant source of danger. His finish was even tidier — the all-round no.9 performance.

Subs: Callum O’Hare – 7, Tom Cannon – 6, Andre Brooks – N/A, Alfie Gilchrist – N/A, Sam McCallum – N/A.

• READ MORE: How Sheffield United really feel about Tom Cannon after zero goals in eight since Leicester transfer

Coventry City player ratings against Sheffield United

Coventry face a huge five weeks to get into the play-offs after a difficult night for Lampard’s men at Bramall Lane. Not many came out with too much credit but a couple of substitutes impressed. Lampard spoke previously about Chris Wilder and games between them but this is one to move on quickly from.

Oliver Dovin — 4

The Swede didn’t crown himself in glory on the free-kick, although the second was unsavable. The injury looked serious and Cov will hope that it isn’t.

Milan van Ewijk — 5

The flying Dutchman started brightly in the opening exchanges but the wind was taken out of his and Coventry’s sails after the two strikes before half-time.

Bobby Thomas — 4

His defending on the opening two goals was inexcusable and inexplicable. Bobby Thomas has been a rock this season but his organisation and awareness was a mile off here.

Luis Binks — 4

Another who started the game well and struggled as it went on. The Blades gave him the runaround after that but his assist late on gave his rating a little boost.

Jake Bidwell — 4

His lack of athleticism showed at times, even if his experience meant his willingness never wavered.

Jamie Allen — 4

Lost the midfield battle in a frustrating night of chasing shadows.

Matt Grimes — 4

Wasn’t allowed to dictate in his usual manner, but Coventry will have easier nights than this for Matt Grimes to hit his stride.

Victor Torp — 5

Offered more in possession than his partners in getting Cov up the pitch, but it meant very little.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto — 5

The Japanese winger had some bright moments in possession but did more work the other way than he would have liked.

Haji Wright — 3

Rarely troubled the Sheffield United defence. His runs were never found and the Blades handled him well.

Ephron Mason-Clark — 4

Simply not involved in the game often enough.

Brad Collins — 6

A solid showing following Oliver Dovin’s injury, and the score could have been much worse without his presence.

Jack Rudoni — 7

The brightest player on the pitch after he came on and a well-taken goal is a timely reminder of Coventry’s returning quality ahead of seven huge games; a silver-lining.

Subs: Ben Sheaf – 6, Ellis Simms – 5, Jamie Paterson – 5.