Chris Wilder said Mason Holgate’s wild red-card lunge on Kaoru Mitoma sent Sheffield United’s game plan out the window after the Blades were routed 5-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion.
Holgate saw red just 13 minutes into Sunday’s game at Bramall Lane, having caught Mitoma above the knee with an awful, studs-up lunge.
Referee Stuart Attwell initially brandished a yellow card, only to upgrade Holgate’s punishment after being sent to the monitor by the VAR.
Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck then scored within a four-minute spell, and Brighton added three more in a second-half flurry, with Simon Adingra scoring twice after Jack Robinson put through his own net.
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The result leaves Sheffield United bottom of the Premier League table, with their 65 goals conceded a new record for any team after 25 games of a season in the competition.
With the Blades facing an uphill battle to survive, Wilder knows they cannot afford to lose their discipline in that manner.
Asked what he had told Holgate about the challenge, Wilder said: “Just that we have to get that balance right, being competitive but not overzealous in our challenges.
“We’ve all made challenges like that, I don’t think there’s any hiding place. It’s a mistimed tackle, whether it’s too powerful… the game has moved on.
“He gave the yellow card initially and then with VAR, it gives them the opportunity of upgrading it.
“There are certain teams you don’t want to go down to 10 men against, and one of those is the team we played this afternoon. It obviously altered everything with how the game went.”
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) February 18, 2024
Brighton, meanwhile, have moved above Newcastle United and West Ham to go seventh in the table, and Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk was delighted with how they made their one-man advantage count.
“Obviously they had a man sent off and it made a difference for them,” Dunk told Sky Sports.
“Once it went to 10 men we played it right, played properly, got our chances and killed the game off.
“It can be hard against 10 men because you can have too much time and start forcing the ball. That’s when it’s dangerous. I thought we controlled the game really well and scored some good goals.”
Some special FT scenes with the squad and our #AFCON winner! ???? pic.twitter.com/q8XqkNlOkh
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 18, 2024
