Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder admitted his side’s Premier League season was over after a 4-1 home defeat to relegation rivals Burnley.

Burnley struck twice in the space of two minutes just before the interval through Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lorenz Assignon to snatch control after being second best for most of the first half.

The Blades threatened a comeback when Gus Hamer reduced the deficit, but further goals from Lyle Foster and substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson maintained Burnley’s late bid for survival.

The Clarets climbed to within three points of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, while a 23rd league defeat of the season has left the rock-bottom Blades 10 adrift of safety with five games to play.

Wilder said: “We all understand the situation. I’m not being defeatist, I’m being a realist. The season really, is gone.

“We have an obligation to our supporters and an obligation to the league to be as competitive as we possibly can, so we’ll look at that as well.

“We’ll get it right. We’ll have people who want to be here. People that want to run around and be involved when the going gets tough and want to be part of it when we’re going well.

“In the meantime, we have to do our best to make this as painless as possible because at the moment pain is going through every part of the football club.”

Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric made a string of crucial saves in either half, while at the other end the visitors were clinical and Gudmundsson’s effort with 20 minutes left, less than a minute after stepping off the bench, killed the game.

Wilder added: “I won’t name names, but I think there were a few players out there who wanted to get out of there pretty quickly after the fourth went in, which you just can’t have.

“I think there were a few who wanted to get out of there pretty quickly and that can’t happen. It’s a powerful league and it’s been too powerful for us all season.”

Burnley registered just their second win of the year, but have now taken 10 points from their last seven matches and boss Vincent Kompany was delighted his players appear to be holding their nerves.

The Belgian said: “You get closer to the end (of the season) and this game was important for both teams, so I feel really happy with the result and the performance.

“The timing of their goal was really bad for us, it’s as bad as you can get. But you’re looking to see if the team is panicking, if there are any signs, but it didn’t feel like this.”

Burnley ran out 4-1 winners at Sheffield United in the battle of the bottom two to throw themselves a Premier League lifeline.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lorenz Assignon struck in the space of two minutes and against the run of play at the end of the first half, before the Blades threatened a comeback when Gus Hamer pulled one back early in the second.

But further goals from Lyle Foster and substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson crushed the Blades’ hopes as Burnley maintained their late bid for survival.

Vincent Kompany’s side have now taken 10 points from their last seven matches and climbed to within three points of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who play at relegation rivals Everton on Sunday.

Blades boss Chris Wilder said this week he wanted his side to extend their survival fight for as long as possible and they created the better first-half chances.

Oli McBurnie’s close-range effort was well saved by Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who rescued his side again when parrying Ben Brereton Diaz’s shot.

McBurnie’s rising drive then drew another save from Muric, but against the run of play, the visitors struck twice in two minutes as the interval approached to stun Bramall Lane.

Wilson Odobert’s weaving run to the edge of the area had the Blades back-pedalling and when his blocked shot rebounded to Bruun Larsen, the latter’s low scuffed effort deflected off Jayden Bogle and span inside the near post.

Blades goalkeeper Ivo Grbic had been caught off balance by the ricochet and he was left flat-footed again two minutes later.

Assignon darted in between Ben Osborn and Brereton Diaz on the right edge of the area and his toe-poked shot went through Auston Trusty’s legs and flew high into the net off Grbic’s out-stretched boot for his first Burnley goal.

The Blades went close to reducing their two-goal deficit at the start of the second period when James McAtee’s goalbound shot was brilliantly saved by Muric and the hosts were back in it in the 52nd minute.

Hamer cut inside Assignon on the left edge of the area and curled a superb right-footed finish inside the far post.

Muric denied Brereton Diaz an equaliser with another top-class save before the home side’s fightback hopes were dealt a mighty blow.

Assignon marauded down the right and picked out Foster with a low ball into the box and the striker made no mistake from six yards.

McBurnie fired narrowly wide as the Blades continued to press forward, but they were stung again in the 71st minute when Gudmundsson curled home a fine finish less than a minute after stepping off the bench to replace Vitinho.

Gudmundsson then rattled a post and with Blades fans leaving in their hordes, the Clarets comfortably saw out just their second win of the year.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been handed a two-match touchline suspension after his red card against Chelsea at the back end of last month.

Kompany was sent off from the dugout during the Clarets’ 2-2 draw at Chelsea on March 30 for his protests against a penalty decision which also led to defender Lorenz Assignon seeing red.

The Football Association confirmed in a statement Kompany must serve a one-game ban straight away with the other suspended until the end of the year, while the Belgian was also handed a £10,000 fine.

“Burnley FC’s Vincent Kompany has been fined £10,000 and suspended from the touchline for two matches following misconduct at their Premier League game against Chelsea FC on Saturday 30 March,” the FA statement said.

“One match is to be served immediately and one match suspended until 31 December 2024. The manager admitted that his language and/or behaviour in the 40th minute of the fixture was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting towards a match official and/or questioned the integrity of a match official.

“An independent regulatory commission imposed his sanctions following a subsequent hearing.”

Relegation-threatened Burnley, who sit second bottom in the Premier League and six points adrift of safety, welcome Brighton to Turf Moor on Saturday, when Kompany will be in the stands.

Kompany, who had 11 seasons as a player for Manchester City, revealed he spoke to referee Darren England after his dismissal at Stamford Bridge to apologise for his choice of words at the time.

But Kompany insisted last week that the standards of refereeing in the top-flight have dropped in this campaign.

“I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season,” he said.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.

“You make a mistake and we all have a laugh about it and usually the traditional view is that it all evens itself out over the course of a season.

“This year, I haven’t felt like this. Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter for me, it’s not in that conversation.”

Meanwhile Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is facing an FA charge over his behaviour after the match against West Ham on Saturday.

An FA statement said O’Neil’s ‘language and/or behaviour in and around the match officials’ changing rooms was improper and/or threatening.” He has until Monday (April 15) to respond to the charge.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his side’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Tempers flared after referee Darren England awarded a penalty to the Blues in the 40th minute for Lorenz Assignon’s foul on Mykhailo Mudryk. The Burnley defender was also shown a second yellow card, forcing the Clarets to play the second half with 10 men.

Kompany was sent off for protesting on the touchline and afterwards expressed his opinion that officials have not been good enough throughout the season.

“I’ll keep saying what I think,” Kompany said.

“I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season.

“And I have said that in, I think, a constructive way, understanding as well the fact it’s not easy for them. The scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on the officials.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.

“I haven’t got any issues with being fined. I just want it to be right.”

The FA announced on Wednesday that the Burnley boss has been charged with improper conduct.

A statement read: “It is alleged that the manager’s language and/or behaviour around the 40th minute was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting towards a match official and/or questioned their integrity.”

Kompany has until 6pm on Friday, April 5 to respond to the charge.

Mauricio Pochettino conceded Chelsea are missing something after they failed to defeat 10-man Burnley in what he reflected had been a “must-win” game at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-2.

Cole Palmer’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner from Raheem Sterling’s delightful flick with 12 minutes to play, looked to have nicked it for the hosts, restoring the lead after Josh Cullen had whacked Burnley level on the volley early in the second half.

Palmer had earlier given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, converting after Lorenz Assignon had fouled Mykhailo Mudryk and been shown a second yellow card, whilst a furious Vincent Kompany was also dismissed from the touchline for remonstrating.

But Pochettino was left to rue another frustrating result when, minutes after Palmer had made it 2-1, Dara O’Shea got forward from a corner, evaded everybody in blue inside the box and headed the ball through the clumsy grasp of goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to salvage the visitors a point.

“Today we didn’t show the capacity, the energy, the hunger,” said Pochettino. “Not the minimum to compete in the Premier League. In defensive phases, we concede too much.

“That is why I’m so upset and disappointed. It’s more here (in the heart) and here (in the head) than in your legs. It’s about being strong like a group, strong like a team.

“We are too slow evolving in this area. That was the key today. The team played well, we had energy. When we have the ball, we go forwards.

“But when we didn’t have the ball, we don’t have the same energy. Today, sorry, I am not happy with the performance when we don’t have the ball.

“It’s difficult to accept not to win. It was a must-win game to be in a position to attack (the table).”

At five games, Chelsea’s unbeaten league run is now the longest they have enjoyed in almost 18 months, but there was little positive cheer shown by fans at the end towards Pochettino and his players.

In failing to beat the Premier League’s second-bottom side, they lost further ground in what looks an increasingly doomed bid to qualify for Europe via their league placing.

Pochettino felt that his team’s problems in turning performances into points ultimately had a psychological root.

“(The players) need to realise that competing is different to playing football,” he said. “We can be there and play, but we need to increase our level.

“It’s not about blaming the players. Maybe we (the coaching staff) need to be tougher with them.

“We need to be more ruthless, find better communication, be more competitive.

“We are missing something. That’s why we are where we are. When we don’t have the ball we need to increase our capacity to recover it.”

Burnley’s assistant manager Craig Bellamy reflected on a performance of which the travelling supporters could be proud.

“To be able to show the patience they showed, working together, the organisation, the commitment, you couldn’t be nothing short of proud watching it,” he said.

Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Burnley at Stamford Bridge as Vincent Kompany’s side twice came from behind with 10 men to frustrate the hosts.

At five league games it became Chelsea’s longest unbeaten run in the league in almost 18 months, but there was little good cheer directed towards Mauricio Pochettino and his players by fans at the final whistle, after they saw Dara O’Shea snatch a point for Burnley late on.

Cole Palmer had earlier scored twice, the first a penalty after defender Lorenz Assignon had been dismissed for fouling Mykhailo Mudryk, then making it 2-1 after being set up by a delightful flick from the under-fire Raheem Sterling.

In between, Josh Cullen volleyed Burnley level against the run of play early in the second half, as their top-flight survival bid received an unlikely boost.

The first opportunity had been Burnley’s. A long ball up from halfway drifted over the head of Benoit Badiashile and was lashed across goal and wide by Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Next to go close was Enzo Fernandez. His shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection towards the top corner, before being brilliantly turned onto the crossbar and behind by Arijanet Muric.

It was a bright Chelsea opening, Palmer and Conor Gallagher readily a threat when linking up whilst Mudryk, fresh from scoring the goal that sent Ukraine to Euro 2024, showed speed and tricky footwork rampaging down the left.

Yet Burnley were not blunt. Wilson Odobert drew a fine, flying save from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, finding space to fire from range after stepping inside Malo Gusto, who allowed him past too easily.

Nicolas Jackson too might have done better when he raced on to Palmer’s incisive through-ball, danced round two defenders and aimed for the corner, again though Muric saved.

Axel Disasi thought he had given Chelsea the lead midway through the first half, turning the ball in at the far post from Mudryk’s cross, only for VAR to rule it had gone in off the defender’s arm.

Mudryk fired straight at Muric after being teed up by Jackson jinking in off the right, as Chelsea’s shot count rose to 12 inside the opening 35 minutes.

The sense that Burnley were clinging on grew, and shortly before half-time their task was made exponentially harder.

Assignon initially looked to have Mudryk under control as the pair raced to reach the ball in the left channel. Mudryk stepped across him, and Assignon heaved him away and to the ground with a raised arm at neck height.

In the chaos that followed, the defender was shown a second yellow card, the fulminating Kompany too saw red, leaving Burnley a man down and with their manager banished from the touchline. With his impudent penalty, Palmer added insult to injury to give Chelsea the lead.

It was richly deserved, and so Burnley’s equaliser immediately after the break stunned the home crowd. Cullen played a one-two with Josh Brownhill 25 yards out, receiving it back and crashing an instinctive volley beyond Petrovic with the second half barely two minutes old.

The visitors would have been ahead had Petrovic not saved brilliantly one-handed from Odobert’s close-range header, then at the other end Muric was again Burnley’s saviour, beating away Jackson’s low first-time drive.

Home fans were contemplating another frustrating result when Sterling, on for Moises Caicedo, diverted the ball beautifully into the feet of Palmer with a devilish flick, and Chelsea’s top scorer crashed it into the bottom corner to restore the lead.

It lasted under three minutes. At once Burnley were up the other end winning a corner, and from it nobody in blue followed O’Shea as he ran across four defenders and headed the ball through Petrovic’s fumbled grasp to level.

Sterling should have won it when he burst onto Palmer’s far-post cross but inexplicably nodded wide, before Jay Rodriguez headed against the crossbar in the 88th minute as Burnley threatened the improbable.