Kalvin Phillips Sent Off After Horror Tackle as Sheffield United Edge Steel City Derby 2-1
kalvin phillips was shown a straight red card at Bramall Lane after a studs-up challenge on Svante Ingelsson that ended his outing after 49 minutes, ruling him out of Sheffield United’s next fixture and tipping the match into extra drama. The dismissal came in a game United won 2-1, a result that carried immediate on-field consequences and fresh disciplinary implications for the 30-year-old loanee.
Kalvin Phillips sent off at Bramall Lane
The Manchester City midfielder, on loan at Championship side Sheffield United from the end of the January transfer window, was dismissed early in the second half when referee Josh Smith produced a straight red for a poor challenge that caught Ingelsson’s left knee with Phillips’ studs. Phillips, who had started his first match for the Blades against Portsmouth and was making his third appearance, lasted 49 minutes before being sent off. He looked abashed on the touchline, raised his hands to the home stands, tried to make his case to the fourth official and was visibly emotional as he apologised to supporters.
Referee Josh Smith and the Sky Sports reaction
Match official Josh Smith showed no hesitation in issuing the red card. Sky Sports co-commentator Andy Hinchcliffe said Phillips appeared to know he had done something wrong, arguing that while the player touched the ball the follow-through was unnecessary and that the dismissal was the correct decision. The broadcast reaction underlined the severity of the contact and the referee’s swift enforcement of the laws in the moment.
Match events at Bramall Lane and United XI
United hosted Sheffield Wednesday in a midday kickoff in S2, a fixture that carried the added significance that United could officially relegate Wednesday with 13 games left to play. United raced into a two-goal lead after a poor clearance by Ndala was punished, first by Hamer and then by Bamford, with Harrison Burrows making it 2-0. Wednesday started the second half brightly and Charlie McNeill reduced the deficit, but the match finished 2-1. Gabriel Otegbayo of Wednesday was also given his marching orders in a game that became increasingly fractious.
Sheffield United named Cooper, Tanganga, Bindon, Hamer, O’Hare, Brooks, Burrows, Phillips, Seriki, Peck and Bamford. Sheffield Wednesday’s XI featured Dieng, Palmer, Otegbayo, Cooper, Adaramola, Ingelsson, Heskey, McNeill, Ndala, Lowe and Yates.
Squad availability: Riedewald, Campbell, Kobacki, Dieng and others
United were without Jaïro Riedewald, who sat out despite hopes he could feature, while Tyrese Campbell was used from the bench. Wednesday suffered late blows to their selection: Olaf Kobacki could not feature and Marvelous Nakamba was not included. Seny Dieng made his debut for Wednesday, Sean Fusire returned to the squad following injury, and 17-year-old Will Grainger made the bench.
Loan context, comments from Phillips and next fixtures
The 30-year-old moved in January from Manchester City to Sheffield United to seek regular minutes after limited playing time under Pep Guardiola. Before the match Phillips had said he wanted to play as many games as possible, preferring to be thrown in at a club where he would get immediate opportunities rather than move to another Premier League side with fewer fixtures. He praised manager Chris Wilder for checking on his physical condition and described the decision-making that led to the loan: he began considering a move in early December, received a text from Pat about Wilder’s interest, spoke to his agent and chose Sheffield United despite barely speaking directly to the manager beforehand.
Phillips will now miss Sheffield United’s midweek home match with Coventry City on Wednesday at 7. 45pm and will face additional time on the sidelines because of the red card. Coventry travel to South Yorkshire hoping to extend their lead at the top of the Championship after a win at West Brom the day before. The dismissal interrupts Phillips’ bid to rebuild his playing time; he has been booked in both of his previous two appearances for the Blades, and this red card compounds his disciplinary record in the early weeks of the loan.
What makes this notable is that Phillips arrived to regain momentum—he will spend the rest of the season on loan at Sheffield United before returning to Manchester City, where his contract runs until 2028—yet the red card removes immediate opportunities for match minutes and adds a suspension to his spell at Bramall Lane.
