Regis Le Le Bris praised his side’s resilience as Sunderland came from behind to defeat Norwich City in a game he described as “chaotic.”
The Black Cats conceded midway through the first half when Anis Ben Slimane slammed the ball home after the Lads failed to clear their lines. Sunderland responded strongly after the break, equalising just two minutes into the second half with a towering header from Dan Ballard.
Le Bris’ men took control of the game from there and when José Córdoba received a second yellow, the Black Cats sensed their opportunity had come. From the resulting set-piece, Jobe Bellingham displayed remarkable composure to deliver a measured finish and secure the lead for the home side.
The victory extends Sunderland’s unbeaten start to the campaign at home to 11 and stretches their overall league unbeaten run to 15 games.
Le Bris said: “It was a tough game. It was a little bit chaotic. I don’t know why exactly but it was the story of the game and the scenario of the game. So I liked the character and mentality of the team once again because it wasn’t easy to come back after we conceded that goal on a set-piece.
“They [Norwich] were really organised and a really good team. It was very difficult to manage their low block and their medium block. The pressure too, and we knew before it was a big challenge from a tactical point of view and in the end it was a good challenge for the character so we found a solution.”
The unbeaten home record is a remarkable achievement and Le Bris added: “It’s important for our fans I think. Because they deserve to feel that energy and commitment in the game. If we can keep that dynamic then it’s good because winning at home is very important for the table even though we are still early in the season.
“Now it’s a question of consistency as we have so many games to play again. Up until January 5 we have another four games so it’s like a marathon.”
On Bellingham’s goal he added: “Because they are young and with these experiences they can learn from many different situations. For Jobe it was up and down. He was involved in the first set-pieces and then he scored at the end and it was the case just one week before. It’s very important for the team and for our dynamic as we want to learn because we are young and if you make a mistake and you can find a way to balance it out quickly during games it’s a good sign for the team.”
Dan Ballard too was on the scoresheet but then limped off injured, but not before having given the ball away when Norwich broke and hit the post – the visitors inches away from forcing a leveller.
Le Bris hopes it’s nothing serious and asked whether it will mean the player’s lack of involvement in the coming games Le Bris said: “I don’t know yet but I hope not. Because he is very important for the team, especially on set-pieces because this part of the game is so important to change the dynamic. When you struggle to find a solution in the dynamic phases you need to be strong in the set-pieces and I think it was the case for us and Ballard is very important in that part.”
Now comes Blackburn Rovers away on Boxing Day followed by a trip to Stoke City on Sunday. Le Bris concluded: “It’s a very exciting challenge and it’s still different. Blackburn will be a good challenge and we know about Stoke now as we played them two weeks ago and it’s very clear how we can manage different issues. This spell is important for the fans and for us because we like playing and I hope we have good results.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/regis-le-le-bris-delivers-30640866
