Fulham claimed a first point of the season at Bramall Lane, but will feel aggrieved that it wasn’t all three.
Sheffield United had the better of the first half in Sunday’s lunchtime kick-off, but it was the Whites who should have gone ahead after the restart, only for Aleksandar Mitrović to miss the target after his side had won a penalty.
Heads did not drop, though, and Ademola Lookman put us in front with a fabulous solo goal.
VAR then bit Fulham on the backside to award the Blades a spot-kick of their own, which Billy Sharp converted to ensure both teams got off the mark in this Premier League season.
Scott Parker handed debuts to Tosin Adarabioyo and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while there was also a first start for Lookman after two impressive performances from the bench.
Fulham started brightly and fashioned the first chance in the seventh minute, patiently working the ball until Tom Cairney had a sight of goal. Blades goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale able to palm his curler from the edge of the box wide.
The home side responded with a long ranger of their own. John Lundstram caught his effort very sweetly, with Alphonse Areola required to tip the rising drive over his crossbar.
Oli McBurnie then had two chances, first denied by a crucial Tim Ream intervention, and then glancing a header wide from Chris Basham’s pinpoint cross.
It was a good spell of pressure from the Blades and Basham was next to go close, placing an instinctive first time shot a yard wide of Areola’s far post.
The Whites – in all yellow – looked to reassert themselves in the game, with Loftus-Cheek drawing another save from Ramsdale with a low strike.
It was quite an open encounter, and Areola was in action again midway through the half, making a routine stop from Enda Stevens following a quick United break.
The Frenchman had been quite comfortable with his saves, but he pulled one right out of the top drawer in the 29th minute. McBurnie looked set to break the deadlock with a close range downwards header, but Areola demonstrated fantastic reflexes to keep it out.
The Blades had the ball in the net soon after when Adarabioyo attempted to cut out a cross, but it was correctly ruled out for an offside in the build-up.
Some wonderful footwork from Frank Anguissa won a free-kick 20 yards out a few minutes before the break. After a one-two with Cairney for the set-piece, Mitrović smashed an effort on target, but it was too close to Ramsdale.
Six minutes after the restart, Ramsdale had a hot and cold moment. First he spilled Ivan Cavaleiro’s cross, but he made a fine save in denying Lookman on the follow-up.
Another Cavaleiro delivery then won his side a penalty when his corner was punched by substitute Jack Robinson. Mitrović, though, hit his kick over via the crossbar.
Keen to keep our heads up, a rapid break led by Anguissa then saw him feed Cavaleiro to his right. He had Loftus-Cheek and Lookman to aim at in the box, but his centre was put behind. Adarabioyo headed over from the resultant corner.
A lovely pass from Lookman then found Cairney in space in the box, but the skipper opted to cross rather than shoot and the ball was cleared.
It looked as though it was going to take something special to break the deadlock, and Lookman provided that moment of magic, weaving his way into the box before slamming an unstoppable left footed effort beyond Ramsdale who stood no chance.
That really got Fulham tails up, with Mitrović bursting into life with a wicked snapshot that drew an excellent reflex stop from Ramsdale.
The Whites were really not content with the one goal, and Cairney almost put things to bed in the 83rd minute, but his arced effort into the corner was tipped away at full stretch by Ramsdale, who had had an impressive afternoon.
Our enthusiasm was immediately halted, though, when a VAR review awarded the Blades a penalty for an apparent foul by Mitrović. Sharp, who had only just come on, made no mistake from 12 yards as he dispatched high into the net.
Both sides wanted to win it and, after Areola had made an outstanding save from Sharp which wouldn’t have counted anyway, Lookman’s blasted strike deflected over.
Some neat footwork in stoppage time from substitute Mario Lemina then presented him with a sighter, but his effort also deflected behind.
Fulham were piling on the pressure, and Mitrović will be devastated that he couldn’t hit the target with his header from Lookman’s exquisite cross.
He got another bit of the cherry a minute later, this time trying to glance one, but again it drifted wide after he met Cairney’s delivery, as the Whites were forced to settle for a point rather than the three they probably deserved.