Sheffield United stole a march on their promotion rivals with a vital victory over Leeds United this past weekend.

Chris Basham scored the all-important goal to earn the visitors a crucial three points in the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

The Blades moved into second place and have a point advantage over their rivals heading into the final eight games of the season.

An international break now pauses league action for two weeks ahead of the final run-in before the end of the season.

The two weeks off will give manager Chris Wilder much to think about and reflect on ahead of a meeting with Bristol City in a fortnight.

With that said, here are THREE things we clearly learnt about Sheffield United after their 1-0 win over Leeds.

Resting Sharp did have the desired effect

Billy Sharp often scores against Leeds United and with the games coming thick and fast, he was rested for the previous two matches in order to have him fresh for the visit to Elland Road.

Sharp assisted Chris Basham for the only goal of the game and was also a pester all game, getting Kiko Casilla - rightly - sent off towards the end of the match.

Basham decision a masterstroke

A jack of all trades, Basham can play almost anywhere on a football pitch, and this past weekend he was deployed in midfield.

Usually, on the right of a back-three, Wilder moved the 30-year-old into the middle of the pitch ahead Kieran Dowell who dropped to the bench.

His experience proved worthwhile in the win, and he put on a solid display in the win – notching the game-winning goal in the process.

They can win by any means necessary

Sheffield United were by no means at their best, but when you are pushing for promotion, you find a way to win.

The game was not the greatest, with only one shot on target the whole match – but the Blades made it could and offered more in front of goal than Leeds did, relative to their time on the ball.

It is important to grind out wins and win ugly at this time of the season.

And Sheffield United are doing that, by any means necessary – as they show off their promotion credentials.