Burnley moved off the bottom of the Premier League table with an emphatic 5-0 victory over 10-man Sheffield United - securing their first point, first win and first clean sheet at home this season.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
36 | -11 | 37 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
36 | -8 | 36 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
36 | -18 | 29 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
36 | -29 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
36 | -35 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
36 | -65 | 16 |
How the match unfolded
It was a dream start for the Clarets, who took the lead after only 15 seconds, setting a club record for the fastest goal in a Premier League fixture. Charlie Taylor’s cross was deftly flicked home by Jay Rodriguez to stun the Blades and send the home crowd into raptures.
Rodriguez had a chance to double Burnley’s lead inside 10 minutes, shooting over from just outside the penalty area after a smart pull-back from Zeki Amdouni.
Having entered this one short on confidence after six straight Premier League defeats, the Clarets suddenly looked a different team in the opening exchanges.
After being overrun early on, Sheffield Utd gradually settled into a rhythm. Gustavo Hamer fired their first real sight of goal wide, before Burnley ‘keeper James Trafford got down well to save Oliver Norwood’s long range shot.
Inside half an hour, however, the Blades conceded again. Poor defensive positioning made it all too easy for the recalled Jacob Bruun Larsen to run uncontested onto Dara O’Shea’s long pass. The Danish international showed fine composure to control the ball and finish to double Burnley’s lead, vindicating his manager’s decision to bring him back into the starting line-up.
The visitors looked in disarray, and manager Paul Heckingbottom’s half-time team talk was made even more complicated just before the break. Having been booked in the 36th minute, following a running feud with O’Shea, Oli McBurnie was shown a second yellow card nine minutes later for another elbow on the Burnley defender.
Burnley started the second half quickly into their stride, with Bruun Larsen seeing his shot blocked from a threatening position seconds after the restart. He then turned provider to set up Luca Koleosho to shoot just wide of Wes Foderingham’s left-hand post.
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Any nerves from the home fans vanished with two goals in as many minutes, as Burnley took full advantage of their numerical advantage.
On 73 minutes, Amdouni converted Jordan Beyer’s cushioned header from ten yards out for their third, and two minutes later Koleosho made it 4-0 with his first Premier League goal, assisted by Amdouni, amid jubilant scenes at Turf Moor.
There was still time for a fifth goal for the now rampant Clarets, who had registered only 10 goals all season going into the match.
Josh Brownhill’s long-range shot beat Foderingham in the 80th minute to put the seal on Burnley’s first home victory in the Premier League this season, helping them move from the bottom of the table and leapfrog both Sheffield United into 19th place.
Did you know?
Jay Rodriguez scored after 15.8 seconds for Burnley, the 15th fastest goal in Premier League history. It came 10 years and one day after he scored after 13.7 seconds for Southampton against Chelsea, the 12th fastest goal in Premier League history.
Burnley’s 5-0 win against Sheffield United represents the joint-largest margin of victory in Premier League history by a team starting the day bottom of the table, and the biggest since Sheffield Wednesday’s 5-0 win against Bolton in November 1997.
Burnley led from the 15th second onwards in this game courtesy of Jay Rodriguez’s opener. Prior to today, they had led for 76 minutes all season in the Premier League at Turf Moor.
Burnley ended a run of nine consecutive defeats at Turf Moor in the Premier League. They are the last of the 92 clubs in England’s top four tiers to win a home league match this season.
Oli McBurnie became the first Sheffield United player to be sent off twice in a single Premier League campaign – he was also sent off against Tottenham in September. McBurnie is also the first player to be sent off in stoppage time in both halves in a single Premier League campaign.