Sheffield United 1-3 Norwich City: Mohamed Toure on target in Canaries win

Goals from Anthony Musaba, Mohamed Toure and Mathias Kvistgaarden earned them the three points, with Patrick Bamford scoring for the hosts.

Musaba struck in the eighth minute with a curling effort. Goalkeeper Michael Cooper got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

The visitors maintained their early pressure with Andre Brooks screwing a shot wide and then putting another straight at Cooper. Playing against the team he left this summer, the lively Brooks also fired wide from a corner.

The Blades began to pose more of an attacking threat, with Sydie Peck forcing a save from Vladan Kovacevic at his near post and the keeper turning a Romelle Donovan shot wide.

The equaliser came in the 23rd minute when Ben Brereton Diaz found Tyrese Campbell and he laid the ball off to Bamford who beat Kovacevic with a curling effort from just outside the area.

Brereton Diaz shot wide and Campbell had a low shot saved before Norwich regained the lead a minute before the break. Anis Slimane sent Toure clear and the striker slipped the ball past Cooper one-on-one.

Cooper had to stand up well to Musaba, making an important save at his near post, while Toure failed to direct a header on target when the ball was whipped in from the left.

The fourth goal of the game came in the 62nd minute, with substitute Kvistgaarden finding the net with a low shot shortly after joining the action.

Hamza Choudhury appeared to have made a second goal-line clearance in rapid succession, but the referee ruled that the ball had crossed the line.

Sheffield United never looked likely to stage a comeback, with their attack lacklustre. Their best effort of the second half was a firm drive from substitute Kalvin Phillips which flew wide.

Ben Chrisene made a vital challenge to nick the ball away from Bamford in the area in the closing stages as Norwich defended resolutely.

The defeat was Sheffield United's first of the season in any competition.

"We didn't deserve anything from the game. Disappointed with the last 20 minutes. It really irritated me. It's not like us. We felt sorry for ourselves.

"I thought we made it pretty comfortable for Norwich. They managed the game well, managed the game better than us. And the goals that we've conceded are really, really poor, even though the third one's offside, which you'll see when that gets replayed.

"But, you know, even taking that out, I think Philippe would have been disappointed if he had not won the game today. I don't think we deserve to, especially in that last 20-25 minutes, get anything out of it.

"We never looked like getting back into the game and putting pressure on them and asking them the question.

"We got ourselves back in, scored a good goal, and then I thought from there we wrestled the initiative off them and it was on us. We got the press right, we didn't allow them to get out.

"The front three especially, in my opinion, one of the best in the division in how they play, we never allowed them to get the ball up to them because we shut that down, we wrestled the initiative back.

"You're going into 43 minutes and the game is just turned on its head, we don't get those opportunities to score those goals. They've had the opportunity to score the goals.

"Regardless of the offside decision or not, they were better than us in the second half."

"A lot of respect towards Chris (Wilder). The way he prepares his teams every time, they're always full of passion, really direct and it's hard to handle. So it was important to keep as much as possible control of the ball, not to give it away too easily.

"Although Sheffield United wanted to press us we came out really well several times, so that was an important part of this game.

"Of course, scoring the goals also. We take the lead just before half-time and it's an important momentum that you take.

"I'm very pleased about how the team controlled the game in the second half and we had the best chances there by far to score more goals. So to do that in an away game, with this crowd, with this manager also and the way he prepares his team, it's a really positive thing.

"We need to continue doing what we've been doing, making it better, integrating the new players, getting players out of injury, creating connections with all the players.

"Praise to Andre (Brooks) today. He came back to the club that he loves. It's like his family here. So that's a difficult one as a young player for the first time and he played a really good game.

"That's sometimes difficult because your emotions are sometimes bigger. But he did that really well. He played good."

What the result means and next fixtures...