Dean Smith could not believe his eyes as Aston Villa slipped to a 1-0 defeat at basement boys Sheffield United.

David McGoldrick bagged the decisive goal on the half-hour mark and the Blades had to see out the game with 10 men following Phil Jagielka’s 57th-minute red card.

But on a night when Villans keeper Emiliano Martinez was rarely called into action, Smith (pictured above) endured a miserable 90 minutes.

The Villa boss said: "It was a very, very frustrating game from our point of view. We had the best chances in the first half and ended up going in a goal down.

"I can't remember Emi being worked at all throughout the game, in all honesty, and then we conceded a really poor goal.

"McGoldrick switches the play from the halfway line and we don't follow him. I think he runs off the back of John McGinn and then Elmo [Ahmed Elmohamady] attempts to let the ball run out of play not knowing he was behind him. 

"In the second half we started really well — we were crisper on the ball and had a couple of half chances and the big change in the game was the sending off.

"For 35 minutes we were camped in their final third but we didn’t show enough quality on the ball or with our runs to make that count. With the quality of players we had out there we should have created more."

Happy hosts

In contrast, Blades hero McGoldrick was delighted with the home side’s performance.

Chris Wilder's men remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League but their fourth victory of the season suggests there is still a glimmer of hope as they attempt to pull off the most unlikely of great escapes.

McGoldrick, 33, said: "We knew it would be a tough game and it got tougher when we went down to 10 men but it showed how much we're fighting for this club. It was backs against the wall.

"We all care about the club. We're still fighting for our lives and our future. We're still fighting until the end."

Did you know? 

Sheffield United (four) have now won more Premier League games this season than 19th-placed West Brom (three) and the same number as 18th-placed Fulham (four).

For the very first time in the Premier League, the Blades managed to win a match in which they received a red card. Jagielka’s dismissal was the first time they had been reduced to 10 when already winning.

Following their defeats at QPR in October 2014, Leicester in January 2015 and Sheffield United this evening, Aston Villa are the first side to lose three straight away Premier League games against the side starting the day bottom of the table since Fulham in November 2018 (four).

Villa boss Smith has only beaten Wilder once in their seven meetings in all competitions (drawn three and lost three).

At 38 years and 198 days, Jagielka is the second oldest player to be sent off in the Premier League. The centre-back is behind only Stuart Pearce, who was dismissed for West Ham against Everton at the age of 38 years and 341 days in March 2001.