Liverpool were held by Sunderland at Anfield and Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris concedes he was surprised that the hosts offered such a minimal press, allowing his side more time
Liverpool's lack of press took Sunderland by surprise
Liverpool's lack of press took Sunderland by surprise
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Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris concedes he was surprised at Liverpool's lack of pressing as his side were afforded time on the ball at Anfield.
The Black Cats left Merseyside with a share of the spoils following a 1-1 draw, which had seen them take the lead in the second-half. Before the season began Liverpool would've been heavy favourites to win the game but Sunderland have been hugely impressive.
Equally the Reds are in the midst of a poor run of results, which has seen them fall out of the title race. Previously they have been known for pressing high but there has been a clear shift in tactics, which came as a surprise to the visitors.
Le Bris saw his side allowed the time and space to build their attacks, which he wasn't necessarily expecting, as Liverpool tweak their approach in an effort to find a winning formula.
The Sunderland boss said: "We had this opportunity to score the second goal but it’s a good result for both teams. We started well, the first half was interesting with and without the ball. Probably we didn’t believe enough that it was possible to score and we did it in the beginning of the second half.
"I think we were even a bit surprised to have time and space to build up the play and probably they didn’t expect to be at that level. We spoke about this final third and the way it was possible to disturb their back line. We expected Salah as well to come on the pitch and to change a bit the dynamics, so we are prepared."
Sunderland took the lead in the second-half thanks to Chemsdine Talbi deflected effort, which struck Virgil van Dijk on the way in. Florian Wirtz thought he bought the hosts level but his strike eventually went down as an own goal. The visitors then had a stoppage time effort clear off the line.
Chemsdine Talbi had put Sunderland in front
Chemsdine Talbi had put Sunderland in front
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Arne Slot has come under huge pressure since Liverpool began their run of losses in late September. Several teams have since come to Anfield and won but the Dutchman doesn't think the fear factor has gone, but admits their opposition now believe they can get the better of the Reds.
He said: "But it’s clear that teams that play us now think they can get a result. Not only think, because that has been shown this season. And even in the games we’ve won, they also fuelled the confidence for other teams like, ‘hmm, something is possible’ because the wins we had at the beginning of the season weren’t easy ones as well."
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