United slipped to their first Premiership home defeat after getting off to a disastrous start when Reading were last in town in September 2006.

Kevin Doyle gave the Royals the lead after just 17 seconds and when Seol Ki-Hyeon doubled the lead midway through the first-half United were in desperate trouble.

The Blades rallied in the second period but Rob Hulse's strike and a peppering of the Reading goal in the closing minutes were not enough to rescue the home side:

Blades: Bennett, Bromby (Nade 88), Unsworth (A. Quinn 45), Morgan, Jagielka, Ifill (Gillespie 45), Akinbiyi, Hulse, Sommeil, Armstrong, Leigertwood.
Unused: Kozluk, Kazim-Richards.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Sidwell, Sonko, Lita (Little 66), Doyle, Harper, Ingimarsson, Convey (Hunt 72), Seol (Gunnarsson 66).
Unused: Stack, Long.

Referee: A Marriner
Attendance: 28,288