What Sheffield United will find once they sift through wreckage of defeat to Jamie Vardy's Leicester City

But when Sheffield United sift through the wreckage of this result, and manage to pick themselves up off the floor following the latest sickening blow of what already threatens to be a long and gruelling campaign, Chris Wilder and his players should take some encouragement from the fact they came so close, so agonisingly close, to claiming what would have been an invaluable point in the battle for survival at the foot of the table.

After Oli McBurnie’s first effort since July cancelled-out Ayoze Perez’s opener for the visitors, there were flashes of the United which proved such an irresistible proposition en route to a ninth placed finish last term. Not enough to truly trouble Brendan Rodgers’ men, who celebrated the victory with the same fervour they did when lifting the title in 2016.

But providing he can repair his team’s confidence, which is bound to be in tatters after Vardy darted clean through at the end of normal time before caressing the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale, Wilder should have enough to work with to try and convince United they can still escape the drop even though history appears to be against them.

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No team has stayed up in the modern era after taking only a point from their opening 11 games but United, who fell behind when Marc Albrighton’s deflected shot fell kindly for Perez inside the penalty area, showed the tenacity they will require to defy the odds by striking back immediately when McBurnie headed home John Lundstram’s corner.

They rose their luck at times, with both Vardy and James Maddison hitting the woodwork for City before the break and Max Lowe, who was withdrawn during the interval, fortunate to escape a second caution following a deliberate foul in front of the referee.

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But with McBurnie producing a combative shift in attack and John Fleck at his most effective since recovering from a back injury, United engineered some promising situations themselves before Vardy drove a dagger through their hearts at the death after surging beyond John Egan.

Although it would have resulted in a red card, the centre-half must have wished he had brought Vardy down.

Sheffield United: Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, Bryan, Baldock, Lowe (Osborn 46), Lundstram, Fleck, Berge, Burke (Brewster 80), McBurnie: Verrips, Sharp, Jagielka, Norwood, McGoldrick.

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Justin Fofana, Evans Tielemans, Vardy, Maddison (Praet 90), Albrighton, Perez (Iheanacho 69), Mendy (Ndidi 69), Fuchs. Not used: Ward, Morgan, Barnes, Under.

Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire). VAR: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).