The Sunderland manager was impressed by how his side wrestled control of this game but clearly believed his side were tested by Everton
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris during the Premier League match against Everton at Stadium of Light. Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris during the Premier League match against Everton at Stadium of Light. Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
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Regis le Bris had no issues with his side’s draw against Everton and insisted he was happy despite his side’s superiority for much of the match.
The Sunderland boss labelled the result “a good point” after Granit Xhaka’s deflected effort brought his team level early in the second half. The hosts, who had also finished the first half strongest, then laid siege to the Everton box, repeatedly causing panic in the away defence.
Despite that dominance, Le Bris said he had no disappointment from the game, viewing it as a good result. That verdict was largely based on the first 30 minutes, during which it was Everton that were in the ascendency. Iliman Ndiaye’s sublime solo goal - his fourth of the season - was followed by Jack Grealish hitting the post and Thierno Barry flashing over the bar from four yards - a miss that was hailed as a turning point in the game by Moyes.
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Praising Everton, Le Bris said: “They were better than us and we were not composed on the ball. We turned the ball over many times so we fed their dynamic, because they like spaces, they like counter-attacks, they like one on ones. Grealish, Ndiaye, Barry, they are really really good when they have space to exploit and because of our turnovers it was possible to do that. Later in the game I think we were more composed.”
Le Bris said his team went on to “dominate” the match but, asked whether he was disappointed not to have taken all three points, he said: “Not really, because this league is so tough. It’s a good reminder how hard it is to win a single point. We started [the season] really well, so we might forget that we still are a promoted team. It’s a good point, to be fair.”
David Moyes mirrored Le Bris’ summary and spoke of the swing in expectations as his side moved from a superb first half an hour to a performance that frustrated him.
He said: “I think after 30 minutes I'd have been disappointed if I was only going home with a point. I think that after I was quite pleased to have a point. Look, we played well and I think the miss we had from Barry took the wind out of our sails. I think after that they just started to get a little bit of strength from us missing the chance, I think. We'd played well enough in the first 20-30 minutes but we didn't play well at all in the second half. We were so poor.”