Sheffield United 4-0 Fulham: Blades hammer lacklustre champions and comfortably secure play-off spot

Sheffield United made absolutely certain of their play-off status as their Bramall Lane fortress was far too much for partying Fulham.

Knowing a win would do, three goals in the opening 25 minutes wrapped up the three points as their intensity and desire blew away the Championship winners.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge had Blades fans in celebratory mood well before half-time and gearing up for a crack at Nottingham Forest in the play-offs.

Sheffield United secured their play-off spot in some style, thrashing champions Fulham 4-0

Fulham appeared to play the match doing their utmost to live up to the 'on the beach' cliche

Sheffield United got off to the perfect start thanks to Morgan Gibbs-White's (No 27) header

Gibbs-White was in the right spot to head home Oliver Norwood's cross in the 10th minute

However, for supporters of the teams trying to deprive them a play-off spot at the start of the day in Middlesbrough and Millwall, this would have made for dispiriting viewing.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side played like everything was on the line; the West Londoners were here in body but their minds were still celebrating the title success achieved in the 7-0 romp over Luton at Craven Cottage on Monday, and they subsided meekly.

Reaching the play-offs caps a tremendous turnaround for United since Heckingbottom replaced Slavisa Jokanovic at the end of November.

Hopes of a top-two finish had already gone by then as they languished in 16th place, but they have actually picked up more points than promoted pair Fulham and Bournemouth since then.

It has all been built around a near-impregnable home record of ten wins and just one defeat in 14 games and they will look to use that next Saturday when they welcome Forest here in the first leg of their semi-final.

Cottagers boss Marco Silva had made five changes to the starting line-up and it only took the play-off chasers ten minutes to pick them apart as Gibbs-White headed in off the post from Oliver Norwood’s cross.

It was an 11th goal of the season for the Wolves loanee, who has come to the fore with injuries to all four of Sheffield United’s frontline strikers, but the efforts of goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga to keep it out will have raised a few eyebrows.

United continued their fast start and Iliman Ndiaye put them 2-0 ahead after 21 minutes

Four minutes after Ndiaye's goal, a bad Fulham error let Sander Berge in to slot home for 3-0

Fabio Carvalho (No 28) had Fulham's best chance of the first half but Wes Foderingham saved

For the second goal, midfielder Jean Michael Seri tried a turn in his own half and slipped, leaving Berge to pick up the pieces. He worked it to Gibbs-White and onto Ndiaye, who swept it home.

Four minutes later, the Blades again waltzed through the visitors’ backline as Gibbs-White flicked on, Ndiaye was first to the loose ball and under little pressure, rolled it across for Norwegian Berge to slot through Gazzaniga’s legs from six yards.

Even Fulham’s much-vaunted attack, which has plundered 106 goals on their way to the title, failed to fire as Fabio Carvalho, in his final game before almost certainly moving to Liverpool, should have pulled one back but he was denied by Wes Foderingham.

The Blades were just as relentless in the second half and Enda Stevens (right) made it 4-0 early

Fulham manager Marco Silva's reaction summed up what was a final day to forget for his team

That was just a brief respite as the Blades added a fourth early into the second half. Berge squared the ball perfectly to left wing-back Enda Stevens, in acres of space in the box, and he swept it home.

The Championship’s player of the season and scorer of an astonishing 43 goals, Aleksandr Mitrovic, was then taken off after an hour, as Premier League-bound Fulham waved the white flag while Neeskens Kebano hit the post with a late deflected effort.

But on this display and with momentum on their side, Sheffield United will still hope they can renew acquaintances with them in the top flight next season.