Sheffield United were unable to end what has been a fairy-tale year happily ever after when they lost 2-0 to champions Manchester City in the final game of 2019. In truth, the Blades fans and manager will probably not mind after they have been treated to a promotion to the Premier League where they will end the year in eighth place.
One of the standout contributors of the promotion push and subsequent Premier League stabilisation has been Oliver Norwood, and the 28-year-old was at his brilliant best once again despite Manchester City’s dominance.
Sheffield United kept just 27 per cent possession against Pep Guardiola’s side, and Norwood was a large part of the reason they even managed a quarter of the share of the ball. He made two tackles in the middle of midfield, showing astute positioning and timing to negate City’s whirlwind passing and positional play. But more impressively he rescued the Blades from danger at the back by blocking a shot and making an enormous six clearances, of which only John Egan made more for Chris Wilder’s side.
On the few occasions Norwood did have the ball at his feet the Englishman made sure not to waste what precious moments he did have possession. He made a team-high 40 passes, which was more than Raheem Sterling, for whom his side kept 73 per cent of the ball. Furthermore, only John Fleck had a higher pass accuracy of those Blades players who started the encounter. Norwood’s long balls were the most prolific of any outfield Sheffield United player, five of his eight efforts found a teammate.
But one area Norwood can consider himself desperately unfortunate in is assists. The Englishman has averaged 1.5 key passes per game, the joint highest of any Sheffield United player since their promotion. Against Manchester city that was no different as he played fellow Blades players into dangerous areas on three occasions, but Norwood is still yet to record his first Premier League assist.
It was another resilient performance from Sheffield United, the sort they have become known for since their reintroduction to the Premier League. Though once again the stand out player who can provide some quality when necessary proved to be Oliver Norwood.
