Regis Le Bris has outlined the secret of the Black Cats success so far this season following their Stamford Bridge win
Sunderland players celebrate at Chelsea
Sunderland players celebrate in the 2-1 win at Chelsea(Image: SmartFrame/Pro Sports Images)
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Regis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s unity, resilience and quality after their magnificent stoppage-time win at Chelsea, praising his squad’s bravery, composure in possession and the fans’ crucial support.
Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring early on, squeezing a low strike beneath Robin Roefs who will hav felt he should have done better.
But the Lads responded through Wilson Isidor, who netted his fourth goal of the season by turning home from close range in the 22nd minute after Dan Ballard had won a near-post header from a long throw.
Chelsea pushed hard for a second after the break, but Sunderland's defence stood firm. Then, in stoppage time, Brian Brobbey’s excellent hold-up play set up Chemsdine Talbi to fire home an incredible winner in front of the travelling Sunderland fans.
The result lifted Sunderland up to second in the Premier League table at 5pm on Saturday, having played one game more than leaders Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City at that time.
Speaking post-match, Le Bris told safc.com: “Our main attributes were what we built last season and during pre-season.
“The togetherness and our ability to defend and suffer together. If you give Chelsea space and time then they will punish you and it was the case after the first few minutes.
“We struggled to find the right balance but in possession I thought we were good. We found spaces in the middle and we pressed high when possible.
“I wanted us to just play the game and try to win,” he continued. “We did well and I am really proud of the staff and the squad - the starters and finishers.
“We worked hard and played good football – it wasn’t obvious to win here but we showed good character and good quality and we found a small opportunity to win the game.
“We are really proud of our fans. We need the extra drive to be competitive in this league. Today was a massive shared experience - their extra high energy is really important.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was honest enough to admit: “I think we were in general we were not good enough.
“When you are not good enough in the Premier League, you know the consequences. I’ve said already, when you are not able to win it is important that you do not lose. The second goal is not a transition, it’s a long ball in behind where we have 2-v-1. We do not defend properly. The first goal comes from a throw in but it is difficult, they bring six or seven inside your six-yard box. Overall, we were not good enough.”
He added: “It can be an easy situation because it is 2-v-1 and the striker is facing his own goal, probably we are trying to manage the situation because it is 92,93 minutes because we have to do better.
"We struggled to create chances, a lack of creativity. We didn’t create a lot, we lost some duels and second balls at 1-0 and against this team, we need to do better.
"When we arrive in certain areas of the pitch, we cross because we expect to have four or five players inside the box but when we crossed, probably the quality of the cross was not the best one.”