Sunderland bounced back in style with a 2-0 win over Wolves
Nordi Mukiele of Sunderland celebrates his opening goal
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Regis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s 2-0 victory over Wolves as “an important win,” praising his side’s mindset, dominance in possession, and growing togetherness.
Clear favourites against basement club Wolves, it was already classed as a must-win match for the Black Cats ahead of much sterner fixtures and they got the job done.
Going into the next fixtures having been the only team to lose against Wolves would have been damaging so in that respect, as Le Bris indicated, it was certainly important.
Nordi Mukiele opened his Sunderland account after combining neatly with Trai Hume before squeezing his effort through Sam Johnstone’s legs.
Wolves controlled large spells of the second half but were limited to few chances, with Robin Roefs making a comfortable save from Marshall Munetsi’s 70th-minute strike.
The Black Cats sealed the points in stoppage time when Chemsdine Talbi’s pass towards Enzo Le Fée was cut out by Ladislav Krejčí, who inadvertently diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper.
The result extends Sunderland’s unbeaten league run at the Stadium of Light this season and records their fourth clean sheet in eight Premier League games – a perfect response to the defeat at Manchester United before the October international break, lifting them to seventh on 14 points.
Speaking post-match, Le Bris said: “It was an important win for us, especially at home. It was important to react after Manchester United, so I am happy with the result and the mindset of the team because the game was tough.
“We started well and dominated possession. We had clear references, generated momentum, and created chances, but my only regret is that we didn’t score the second goal.
“When we can dominate the game like we did, it’s really important to get that second goal. If you don’t close the game, you can expect the second half to be completely different.
“We are still a young team with shared experiences. For us to develop, we need new ones, and at least the mindset and togetherness helped us to keep this clean sheet.
He continued: “Nordi has really good energy and is very well connected with our project and our team. He’s a really good player with a specific profile, and with this energy and commitment to go forward, we just have to manage that energy.
“For me, it’s just a question of the next game. We don’t know what the scenario will be this season. It will be a long, tough journey, but if we can win points early, it’s much better for our confidence.”
Meanwhile, speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Wolves boss Vitor Pereira said: “In the second half we corrected our moments and in my opinion we played 30 minutes of high-quality football and created three or four chances to score.
“In the Premier League you cannot lose these moments. But in the end we concede. In the last 15 minutes with two strikers we stopped playing, we started playing the long ball and this is not our game.”
The introduction of Tolu Arokodare meant Wolves had two big strikers up top, and they decided to take a route-one approach. That’s not what Pereira instructed, though, and it threw away the momentum that had been building since coming out from the break.