The pigeon that somehow invaded the Bramall Lane press room felt like a fitting reminder of the flapping on show from Mauricio Pochettino’s band of multimillion-pound players, Sunday's surrender being the latest example in a season plagued by softness.
Chelsea had chances to clear their lines in stoppage time against the side propping up the Premier League table. Instead, they watched as Gustavo Hamer and Cameron Archer won headers ahead of Mykhailo Mudryk and Trevoh Chalobah to leave Oli McBurnie to equalise for a Sheffield United side that never said die.