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Sheffield United missed the chance to go second in the Championship table as they lost 1-0 at Swansea City.

The Blades started strongly but failed to take their chances in a goalless first half at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea made them pay with a second-half transformation which led to Oli McBurnie's well-worked winning goal.

The hosts should have been out of sight soon afterwards but were thwarted by a flurry of brilliant saves by Dean Henderson in the Sheffield goal.

Nevertheless, victory lifts the Swans up to ninth in the Championship, six points adrift of the play-off positions.

For United, meanwhile, defeat brings their four-match winning run to an abrupt halt.

Norwich's win over Birmingham on Friday had demoted the Blades to third place in the table, though they knew victory here would regain second spot and close the gap on leaders Leeds - who lost at Stoke City earlier on Saturday - to just one point.

Chris Wilder's side looked confident as they sought a fifth successive league triumph, overrunning their opponents in a purposeful start to the match.

The Blades midfield cut through Swansea's at will, and they would have been ahead by half-time had it not been for the wasteful finishing of their front two.

Billy Sharp had the best chance but, from just a couple of yards out, his tame low effort was saved by Erwin Mulder.

David McGoldrick was the next to be presented with a decent opportunity but, from Mark Duffy's curling cross, the United forward could only glance his header wide.

Although that was a trickier chance than Sharp's, United would come to regret those squandered openings.

Swansea were vastly improved after the break, closing their opponents down with more energy and attacking with greater speed and direction.

Their lone striker McBurnie was proving difficult to mark as he drifted into different positions, while his link-up play deftly brought the Swans' wide players into the game.

The chief beneficiary was Nathan Dyer, whose influence on the game grew as the second half wore on.

The former Blades loanee played a crucial role in the winning goal, playing a delicate one-two with Mike van der Hoorn before firing a low cross along the six-yard box, presenting McBurnie with the simple task of tapping in.

That lit the fuse for a period of intense Swansea pressure, which in turn whipped up a fervent atmosphere inside the Liberty Stadium.

Graham Potter's men could have extended their lead four minutes later but Bersant Celina and Daniel James were both denied by Henderson's superb double-save.

United were rattled at this point and, although they made a late attempt to salvage a point - including a half-hearted penalty appeal for handball against van der Hoorn - they were unable to find a way past Swansea's resolute defence.

Swansea City manager Graham Potter said:

"We struggled the first 20 minutes to get any real fluidity in the game.

"Then for the second half I just asked them to play better. I thought we could have played better in the first half. In fairness the players did, in the second half I thought we were really good.

"We managed to stretch the game a bit and Oli played a little deeper so we had more combinations there and a threat in behind.

"We are delighted with a 1-0 win and it shows a lot of the character of the players and I am very happy."

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said:

"I thought we were outstanding in the first half, in the way we controlled the game against a really talented group of players.

"But we should have put the game to bed. We should have been two up at half-time and I shouldn't have been making changes after half time to get back into the game. I should have been making changes to see out the game.

"But we allowed them a foothold into the game and their one bit of quality - a one-two - and a great ball in and a good finish.

"They do that once, but we did that half a dozen times and don't find the finish."