After one goal in his previous 89 Championship games, Liam Lindsay (centre) scored twice in 15 minutes
Preston North End defender Liam Lindsay scored twice for the first time in his career to inspire his side to a 3-2 victory at Sheffield United.
Lindsay headed in twice from corner kicks in the first 20 minutes at Bramall Lane as North End leapfrogged their opponents to move back into the top half of the Championship.
A Gustavo Hamer goal from the penalty spot briefly gave the Blades hope in the second half, but Lewis Dobbin restored the visitors' two-goal cushion before Patrick Bamford grabbed a second for the hosts late on.
It was a welcome relief after successive defeats for Paul Heckingbottom's team, but it capped a miserable few days for Chris Wilder and Sheffield United.
After losing at home to Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, this was a 10th defeat at Bramall Lane in a season the Blades will be desperate to forget, as they slipped one place to 15th with only one match to go.
The two sides began the day side-by-side in the table after taking contrasting routes through the campaign.
North End were fourth in mid-January but three wins in their past 18 had seen the season fizzle out, while the Blades' shocking start with 11 defeats in their first 14 matches was too big a handicap to overcome.
Lindsay's previous Championship goal was in April 2025 but he ended that drought when he headed home from Jordan Thompson's corner.
And he only needed to wait for a quarter of an hour for his next one as he glanced in Alfie Devine's corner from the opposite side.
The Blades were booed off at half-time but they had a lifeline when Hamer converted after Femi Seriki was tripped by Andrija Vukcevic.
Dobbin finished off a good counter-attack at the other end shortly before Bamford completed the scoring with an impressive 13th goal in 27 appearances since joining the Blades in November, a bright spot in a bad season.
The home side pushed for an equaliser, but it did not come, and Heckingbottom was able to complete a league double against his old club.
'Rocket scientist not needed to know our problem' - reaction
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"The goals that we've conceded yet again, really poor. We looked fragile every time the ball came in our box from a set-play.
"We never dealt with that well enough. We knew what the gameplan was going to be. There was nothing in the game from a technical or tactical point of view, but if you can't defend set-plays and you can't defend direct play, you're going to open yourself up.
"I don't think it takes a rocket scientist or whether it's me or 25,000 people knowing the areas where we need to improve, and we will improve next year.
"The spirit of the team was good, they never caved or went under, but we can't concede the goals we're conceding and expect to win matches."
Wilder: 'We can't concede the goals we're conceding'
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"I'm proud of the players. We had a lot of damage coming out of the game on Wednesday night [at Birmingham City] that we weren't really aware of.
"We were missing a lot of key players, but the boys who had to go again were excellent, and the ones who we put back in were very good. I'm proud of what they did today.
"I don't think we've been good enough at set-plays all season, and you've just seen the value of them."
Heckingbottom: 'I'm proud of what they did today'
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