Despite conceding two goals against Norwich City, Sheffield United’s defence kept the Canaries at arms length, whilst United created a bucket load of chances in the second half.
In the graph below, you can see that Norwich City created less than one expected goal up until the last few minutes of the game when their expected goals spiked due to the penalty. A penalty equates to 0.8 expected goals.
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Meanwhile, the Blades created less than 0.5 expected goals in the first half which underlines the poor quality of football that was on display. However, in the second half that changed.
Sheffield United brought on Iliman Ndiaye at halftime, and Tommy Doyle and Oli McBurnie around the hour mark. When all three of the subs were on the pitch at the same time, United immediately sprung into life in a chance creation sense – see graph above.
Ndiaye, McBurnie and Doyle had ten shots between them in the second half, proving that they are Sheffield United’s biggest threats.
Tommy Doyle has contributed to 8.8% of Sheffield United’s chances, which is one of the highest in the squad. Doyle averages 2.02 key passes per game making his vision and weight of pass a dangerous weapon in United’s arsenal.
Oli McBurnie averages 8.67 touches inside the opposition box – which means on average, 20% of his touches come inside the penalty area, making him a huge box threat. McBurnie isn’t scared of unleashing a shot, averaging 4.5 shots per90 – 2.23 of those are registered on target. United’s number nine enters 12 aerial duels per game which is double the average forward in the top European divisions.
Iliman Ndiaye is a key cognitive piece in the Sheffield United team and they have relied heavily on him already this season – contributing to 7.3% of the Blades chances. Ndiaye gives United a pocket presence when he is on the pitch, and with his one and two-touch ability, he can link play even when under duress. Ndiaye has recorded 3.19 dribbles per game – completing 1.9 of those per game. This makes him Sheffield United’s best dribbler.