When it rains, it pours - Heroes and villains from Sheffield United's 3-0 defeat at West Ham

After watching Fulham beat Everton and West Brom take a point off Manchester United, the Blades went down 3-0 at West Ham on Monday evening - leaving them 14 points away from fourth-bottom Newcastle United, with 14 games of the season remaining.

Here, we run through some heroes and villains from the defeat at the London Stadium.

Aaron Ramsdale

A player who didn't deserve to be on the losing side in the capital, and certainly didn't deserve to concede three goals in the process. The first was a decent penalty from Declan Rice, the second a virtually free header for Issa Diop from a corner and the third a well-placed shot from Ryan Fredericks, who was given the freedom of Stratford to pick his spot.

What Chris Wilder said about John Egan's injury in Blades' defeat to West Ham

But Ramsdale made decent saves from Jesse Lingard, and a stormer to deny Vladimír Coufal as more average defending allowed the Czech defender to wander through one-on-one.

Ramsdale, for my money, has started to come of age in recent weeks and months and will be a big player for United going forward if, as now seems likely, they are plying their trade in the Championship next season.

Ethan Ampadu

Another player who has taken enormous strides forward in recent weeks, but took a big one back at the London Stadium.

He is good on the ball, composed and confident and is the best of all the options United have tried to replace Jack O'Connell at left centre-half.

But good defenders at this level don't get bullied like he did for West Ham's second goal, as Diop eased him out of the way and glanced a header into the far corner.

A standout who didn't deserve to lose - Blades ratings from West Ham loss

It's just the latest set-piece goal United have conceded this season - it's considered a sin on Concord Park on a Sunday morning. At Premier League level, you're just asking for trouble.

Should United have a player on the back post when they're defending corners? It's the latest header from a set-piece to be scored in that area, after Harry Maguire's against Manchester United and Ben Mee's for Burnley.

Ollie Norwood

There were some good moments from the United midfielder, including a good pass to set Sharp free for arguably United's best chance when he crossed for McGoldrick, and a clever early cross which McGoldrick couldn't take advantage of.

But Norwood's evening will be remembered for a sloppy pass in midfield, which saw West Ham break and Lingard eventually taken out by Chris Basham. Rice converted the resulting penalty and United were behind the eight-ball, after actually starting the game fairly brightly.

It was, in some ways, a microcosm of United's season so far. Start well, fail to take chances, give ball away in midfield, concede. Rinse and repeat.

What David Moyes made of Blades as West Ham run out 3-0 winners

Those writing off Norwood as a lost cause are overreacting, but the midfielder is evidently struggling to exert the same control over games that he did last season. Is it any wonder? United are no longer dominating games, with options and runners darting all over the place for Norwood to find with his pin-point passing.

When the ball was played back to him, SEVEN teammates were ahead of the ball and only Jayden Bogle moved, jogging steadily back towards the right. Ampadu was in shot, but barely walking. Basham actually won the challenge with Lingard, but the ball bounced fortuitously and moments later, West Ham had their penalty which set them on their way.

Oli McBurnie

The Sheffield United striker, has been praised for a "class" gesture after offering to pay for the funeral of a Swansea City fan who tragically passed away after undergoing heart surgery earlier this month.

Footballers get a bad reputation, but it's important to highlight the good as well as the bad. Fair play, Oli.

Injuries

When it rains for the Blades this season, it tends to pour. Their misery last night was compounded by the loss of John Egan to injury, the defender leaving the pitch on a stretcher in a leg brace.

Chris Wilder admitted he hadn't spoken to the medical staff after the game, but admitted it didn't look good with Egan on crutches.

Every club will always believe they are hard done to with injuries, but United's threadbare squad has been stretched surely than most others. First with the loss of Jack O'Connell and then injuries to key men such as Sander Berge, John Fleck, George Baldock, Enda Stevens, Oli McBurnie, Ben Osborn…

Sheffield United's John Fleck was RUSHED to hospital before West Ham clash

The list goes on and on. Fleck was a big loss at the London Stadium with an unspecified illness that forced him to be rushed to hospital over the weekend, which Wilder felt rather summed up his side's luck this season.

Maybe something as serious-sounding as that puts things into perspective. We wish Fleck all the best and hope to see him back doing what he does best, as soon as possible.

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