You get what you pay for ... the difference as Sheffield United lose to West Ham
Haller’s finish - a thunderous strike into the roof of Aaron Ramsdale’s net - was as clinical as you would expect from a centre-forward who cost £45m and is reputed to earn around £121,000 a week.
Some notable exceptions apart, you usually get what you pay for when it comes to elite level football so perhaps folk should not be surprised by the sight of Chris Wilder’s team, who despite spending lavishly by their own standards remain top-flight paupers, drawing their fifth blank in nine outings.
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Hide AdThey had plenty of opportunities to deny the visitors a clean sheet and take something from a contest which, for the most part, was every bit as competitive as the scoreline suggests.
The best, after he had earlier seen Lukasz Fabianski acrobatically palm his header clear, fell to Oli McBurnie after Haller had smashed the ball home from the edge of the area in the 55th minute.
Bearing down on goal after escaping his marker, the Scotland international beat Fabianski but not the crossbar - cutting a disconsolate figure as his shot cannoned back off the woodwork and dropping at the feet of an opposition player.
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Hide AdAlthough West Ham were guilty of missing chances too, particularly when Tomas Soucek inexplicably fired wide from point blank range before the interval, David Moyes’ men took one when it mattered. United didn’t, with George Baldock and McBurnie not doing enough to truly test Fabianski at the beginning of the match.
Their attempts, which were both snatched, betrayed the anxiety borne from making such a poor start to the campaign and there were further signs of United’s fragile confidence as their play became increasingly fractious towards the end.