Coventry | Frank Lampard's side go four points clear at the top of Championship

Coventry City 3 - 1 Sheffield United

Championship leaders Coventry City came from behind at half-time to beat struggling Sheffield United and move four points clear at the top of the table.

Author | Jay Dean

Stadium | Coventry Building Society Arena

The visitors went ahead when former Coventry defender Sam McCallum finished from close range after Ben Mee flicked on Sydie Peck's corner.

Sheffield United were forced into a goalkeeping change at the interval, with the injured Michael Cooper replaced by Adam Davies. His first involvement ended badly as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto swept home a low shot after the defence failed to deal with a long throw.

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Frank Lampard’s side then took the lead when Davies failed to make contact with a punch from Victor Torp’s corner and Bobby Thomas’s header crept over the line.

Haji Wright broke the offside trap late on and squared for Brandon Thomas-Asante to seal the win with the final kick of the match.

Coventry had suffered their first defeat of the season at Wrexham on Friday, but this victory restored their momentum and extended their lead to five points over third-placed Middlesbrough.

Their three goals took their tally for the season to 39, a figure unmatched across the top four divisions of English football, where no other side has managed more than 27.

Sheffield United remain third from bottom after 11 defeats in their opening 14 games, already more than in the whole of last season.

Coventry show their promotion credentials

Lampard reacted to that defeat at Wrexham by making five changes to his starting line-up, while Chris Wilder made two alterations from the Sheffield United side beaten by Derby on Saturday.

McCallum’s opener came slightly against the run of play but gave the visitors fresh impetus. Sydie Peck then had a good opportunity to double their lead before the break, only for Bobby Thomas to make a crucial block that took the sting out of his effort.

Coventry’s best chance of the first half came in added time when Haji Wright’s header lacked the power to trouble Michael Cooper, who gathered comfortably.

That proved to be Cooper’s final involvement, as the goalkeeper, having received treatment earlier in the match, was replaced at half-time by Adam Davies, making just his second league appearance since August 2024.

There was little Davies could do to stop Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s low strike three minutes after the restart, although Wilder will have been concerned by his team’s failure to clear a relatively weak long throw in the build-up.

The Wales international was culpable for Coventry’s second goal, misjudging his attempt to punch Victor Torp’s corner and allowing Thomas to head home just past the hour mark.

From that point, the home side controlled proceedings, though Sheffield United did enjoy a brief spell of late pressure without seriously troubling Carl Rushworth in the Coventry goal.

Deep into stoppage time, substitute Jamie Allen played Wright through, with a hint of offside, and the forward unselfishly squared for Brandon Thomas-Asante to roll the ball into an empty net to round off another commanding display from the league leaders.