Sunderland battled back from two early goals to beat Bournemouth

Régis Le Bris believes Sunderland’s strong start against Bournemouth was key to their eventual comeback at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats started positively against Andoni Iraola’s side but fell 2-0 behind after goals from Amine Adli and a stunning solo effort from midfielder Tyler Adams. Sunderland persevered and a penalty from Enzo Le Fée halved the deficit at the break, with goals from Bertrand Traore and Brian Brobbey completing the comeback.

Le Bris praised the visitors and their quality through Antoine Semenyo in particular, but was pleased with the resilience his team showed thereafter.

“Yeah, this league is really demanding,” Le Bris said.

“We made two small mistakes and got punished quickly. So 2-0 after 15 minutes was hard because I think, especially with the ball, we started well. They have the best PPDA in the league and I think our low build-up was good, but we felt that they were strong on their left side, and it was as expected.

“But we struggled to manage this part on transition and even when we were in a mid-low block, they were able to find solutions. So it was balanced, but at the end it's a big achievement for us. I think the game went as expected, so they felt their references. Sometimes you can be 2-0 down and you give up because you don't have the belief that you can change something. Here, I think because we started well, our references were clear, we were able to progress, to find solutions through the middle and then to create chances high up the pitch. Probably it fed the confidence and after that, one goal and the dynamic can change, especially with a crowd.”

Though Sunderland fell behind early on, Le Bris felt his switch to four at the back paid off in the end.

“Yeah, we wanted to use once again this 4-4-2 in the mid-block,” Le Bris said of his selection.

“So we decided to go with two wingers and two forwards, or three midfielders with Enzo in the middle. Just to be a bit more proactive, especially in the mid-block, after that it's a 4-3-3, classic. But this part of the pitch, especially at home, I think it's important to show that you are proactive.”

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Le Bris praises resilience of his Sunderland players after Bournemouth comeback

“Yeah, it's crucial,” Le Bris said.

“Because in this league, especially, you can't control everything. The scenario will go wrong at times. And if you don't have the foundations, the character, the connection within the team, a bad scenario and you give up. And it was the case today, so it started poorly for us. But because of the foundations we created together, it's still possible to think that you can be back in the game.

“And it was the case. So it's really important because the scenario in football is still unpredictable. And when it goes wrong, you still have to stay in the game and to create the next opportunity, one goal. And we don't know how we'll evolve the scenario. And it was the case today.”

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