Sheffield United finally picked up that elusive first away win of the season after beating Luton Town 3-1 at Kenilworth Road.
It was sweet revenge for Chris Wilder and his charges who ran out comfortable winners in the end and banished the Christmas blues of the 3-2 home defeat in 2023.
Goals from Cam Archer, James McAtee and the icing on the cake finish from Vinicius Souza helped United to a big win and a huge boost ahead of the final 14 games.
Of course, it was Souza’s first goal for the club as he became the first Brazilian to score a Premier League goal for United.
And speaking to the BBC after the game, Chris Wilder labelled Souza as ‘outstanding’ in the middle of the park.
“We’ve got players there with no Premier League experience, we haven’t got it really. They’re learning in the hardest division in the world and when you don’t get it right, you get done. But when you do get it right, you then have days like today. Vini was outstanding, now we just keep it going and engage our supporters,” Wilder said.
Vini Souza finally delivers for Sheffield United
Let’s get it out of the way first. Your writer here has been critical of Souza this season and vocal about it on social media.
However, that writer is also happy to take one on the chin and today we saw a performance from Vini Souza that we have been craving for a while.
He was brilliant in the midfield and even without the goal, was arguably United’s best player on a big day for the Blades.
This can hopefully be a stepping stone for Souza now to really establish and kick on. There was a moment in injury time that summed him up perfectly as he strode out with the ball, still full of energy and bursting forward.
That is what we need from Souza and with a bit of luck, today is a springboard for him to really go on and dominate for United.