Sheffield United relegated after beating five-star Newcastle | first division

Sheffield United are presumably relieved that their next league assignment in the North East will be at Sunderland or Middlesbrough. Long before the final whistle confirmed a relegation to the Championship that Chris Wilder had already deemed inevitable, his players had seen more than enough of Newcastle and the excellent, electric Alexander Isak in particular.

thirteen of the first division Newcastle's goals this season have come against the Blades and the bottom five, with two from Isak, boosted their hopes of hosting European nights this autumn.

Wilder did not seem surprised. “It's an incredibly young team and there is a complete lack of leadership,” the Sheffield United manager said. “We haven't been good enough. This league has been too powerful for us.

“We should have been 3-0 up at half-time instead of 1-1 but after that our old mistakes returned, no one was brave enough to make the right challenges and the goals went in. There is a reason for that. The gap between the haves and have-nots in the Premier League is huge now, but some of our performances have been completely unacceptable. The mentality has to change.”

Your challenge now is to fix things. “It's going to be a tough summer. But I have one more year on my contract and I would like to think that the fans trust me. I have the desire to do well next season.”

Although it was ultimately straightforward for Newcastle, any notion that the first half might be a gentle gallop was quickly debunked when the fallout from a short corner routine led to an unmarked Anel Ahmedhodzic leading Sheffield United into a surprise lead. The visitors intended to atone their 8-0 home defeat in September and started out on the right note before finally falling apart.

If that first goal served as a reminder of Newcastle's enduring set-piece vulnerability, at least they can rely on Isak. The Swedish forward's 18th league goal of the season drew Newcastle level thanks to a beautifully timed right-footed shot following a fabulous pass from Jacob Murphy that left Wes Foderingham helpless.

Initially at least the visitors refused to fold and could count themselves a little unlucky not to equalize when Ben Brereton Díaz's shot was blocked by Dan Burn after the striker had evaded Martin Dubravka and Mason Holgate's shot bounced off a post.

Captained by their 19-year-old central midfielder, Oliver Arblaster, and with Cameron Archer displaying some impressive attacking movement, the visitors, albeit briefly, seemed determined to prove they could play a bit after all.

Arblaster is the seventh Blade to wear the captain's armband this season, but proved unable to spark a comeback when Brazilian Bruno Guimarães showed precisely why his buy-out clause with Newcastle is set at £100m by heading in the Anthony Gordon free kick beyond Foderingham.

With Guimarães shining in midfield, Sheffield United suddenly had few answers to Newcastle's questions. After Holgate brought down Gordon in the box, Isak (who, on this form, must be worth considerably more than that £100m) increased his lead from the penalty spot, Ben Osborn headed a backheel into his own goal and substitute Callum Wilson took advantage with his right foot and scored his team's fifth goal.

It was the 97th goal Sheffield United had conceded in 35 league games. They thought they had won a penalty when another home substitute, Alex Murphy, appeared to bring down Jayden Bogle, but a video assistant referee review caused Tony Harrington to change his mind. It seemed like a microcosm of Sheffield United's season.

Newcastle had been rewarded for picking up the pace in the second half after what Isak described as a “wake-up call” at the interval. He left Eddie Howe bombarded with questions about whether he will be able to keep Isak and Guimarães on Tyneside. How Wilder would love to face similar problems.