Man united went into the game in red hot form as they conquered bitter rivals Liverpool in a five goal thriller at the FA Cup fourth round tie just days before.
It was looking like man united had just regained their dominance once again, as in the days of Sir Alex Fergusson. Ole Gunner Solsjkaer made five changes to the side that beat Liverpool, with Martial being preferred upfront to Edinson Cavani.
Chris Wilder also made four changes to his side as he was set to stage a fight at the legendary Old Trafford.
The game started with high level energy as both sides looked to keep constant pressure on each other, but this led to a worry on the man united team early in the game as Martial suffered a slight shoulder injury.
However, the medical team did its job and fortunately the French skipper was back on the pitch just minutes later.
Ten minutes into the game, Aaron Wan Bissaka got behind Mousset to deliver a beautiful cutback to Marcus Rashford, but the English International steered it wide off the post.
This was the closest man united came to open the scoring in the first minutes of the first half.
Thirteen minutes later, a well swung cross from a corner kick was headed goal wards by Kean Bryan and Sheffield was in front.
It was all shambles at the back as man united again conceded from a set piece in the Premier league. To cement their status at the top, they now had to do it the hard way, by coming from behind.
It was looking like a goal for man united in the 29th minute when Martial hit the ball past the net from point blank range, but the goal was quickly ruled out for a foul on the Sheffield goalie.
Man united edged closer to leveling the score with a couple of minutes to the end of the first half but were denied by superb defending from the veteran Phil Jagielka who returned to the club after a long spell with the toffees with the aim of helping them survive in the Premier league.
On the other end,, things were also getting fired up as Tuanzebe tracked back and produced a crucial stop to McGoldrick’s easy tap in , and at half time, Sheffield united lead.
Coming back into the second half, Man united looked to bounce back, but Mason Greenwood missed his chance early on to even the score.
The hosts kept pushing and pushing, and at the 64th minute they were awarded a corner kick from which they took clinically, with Harry Maguire, the one-time Sheffield boy, at the end of it.
Disappointment for Chris Wilder as his team really defended well. The reds again missed their chance to add to the score sheet as Cavani, who entered as a substitute, drove his chance wide of goal.
The blades’ disappointment however did not last long, as horrible marking in the final third of man united saw Ollie Burke have a shot at goal, which went past De Gea with the help of a deflection.
Horrible horrible marking, but this was joy for the active travelling side.
Sheffield maintain their drop back tactic and maintained decent shape which saw them cling to three vital points which were fully deserved keeping in mind the load of defending they had to do.
Man united on the other hand were poor going forward, but all in all, they look to get back to winning ways when they travel to North London to face old time rivals Arsenal.
This result could have long – term ramifications at both ends of the table, as Sheffield earn three very important points to get them out of the relegation zone, and Man united lose three , increasing the gap between them and league leaders Manchester city.
What a night for Sheffield united, as they become only the third side from Yorkshire to win at Old Trafford in the premier league era since 1974.