Sheffield United managed to secure a victory on Sunday with them running out 3-2 winners against Barnsley at Oakwell to get their campaign back on track.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s side went into the game aiming to respond to their 2-1 defeat at home against Millwall in midweek to fall to their third defeat in four league games.

That run of form had threatened to derail the Blades following their improved run of form throughout September.

It was always going to be crucial that Sheffield United bounced back against a Barnsley side under major pressure after a poor run of form has placed pressure on Markus Schopp.

The Blades were able to take advantage of Barnsley’s fragile form in the second period as they put the Tykes to the sword and went into a 3-0 lead with 18 minutes remaining.

Despite Barnsley’s late come back Jokanovic’s side ended up on the right side of the result.

With that all in mind, we take a look at THREE things we learnt about Sheffield United following their win against Barnsley…

Keeping Lys Mousset fit could be the key for Sheffield United

It has been a frustrating start to the season for Lys Mousset with the forward once again suffering with fitness issues that have limited his impact for the Blades in the Championship.

However, the forward managed to fire home his first league goal of the season for Sheffield United when he came off the bench with 23 minutes remaining in their 2-1 win against Stoke City recently.

Jokanovic opted to hand Mousset just his second league start of the season against Barnsley as a result.

The 25-year-old vindicated that decision by delivering a strong performance that showed what he can bring to the table the Blades in the final third.

Mousset managed to grab two well-taken goals to put Sheffield United into a 2-0 lead within the space of two minutes early in the second half. That helped the Blades take control of the game and put Barnsley under major pressure.

However, Mousset was forced off the field with another injury issue just a few minutes after he had doubled the Blades’ lead against Barnsley.

After the game, Jokanovic revealed to the media that he was taken off as a precaution and that the Blades will wait to assess the exent of the issue.

They will hope that the injury is nothing too serious and that Mousset can return to action swiftly. While they will also need him to avoid any other setbacks because he showed he can make a major difference when he is fit and firing.

 

 

Ben Osborn continues to be a talisman figure for Sheffield United

Sheffield United have lacked consistency so far this season. One player who has been consistently someone that they have relied upon to make a difference for them in the final third has been Ben Osborn.

Against Barnsley, Osborn was highly instrumental for the Blades and he took the game to Barnsley and helped to put them in complete control of the game during the first half of the second period.

The 27-year-old managed to provide two assists for Mousset’s goals with him showing that he can be a creator for the Blades, as well as someone that is capable of adding goals in the final third.

Osborn then rounded off his performance in style by adding his third goal of the season in the Championship to put Jokanovic’s side 3-0 up on 72 minutes.

The attacker was also able to complete two successful dribbles, make two key passes and have 80 touches of the ball as he helped to make things tick for the Blades.

While Osborn also did his defensive duties very well making three tackles and two interceptions.

If Sheffield United can get one or two more players playing with the consistency of Osborn then they will have a chance of climbing the table and pushing closer towards the play-off places.

Sheffield United’s vulnerabilities on show as Barnsley produced late fightback

When Osborn put Sheffield United 3-0 ahead on 72 minutes, the Blades were looking like they were set to enjoy a very comfortable end to the game where they could see out the match and keep their confidence levels high.

However, the final 12 minutes were made uncomfortable for the Blades as they allowed Barnsley to score two goals in the space of just four minutes to get themselves back into the game.

Sheffield United did manage to eventually see out the game, but they certainly gave themselves a lot more work than they needed to do in that. On another day, they might even have surrendered their 3-0 lead and dropped vital points.

That demonstrated Sheffield United’s defensive vulnerabilities and it is something that Jokanovic insisted they have to address after the game if they are to have any chance of climbing up the table in the next few weeks and months.