Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris admitted his side were “surprised” at how Liverpool allowed them to play at Anfield, with the champions barely pressing them.
While the stats show that Liverpool dominated in terms of chances on Wednesday night – with 23 shots to their visitors’ nine and an xG scoreline of 1.46-0.42 – it hardly played out that way.
The Premier League champions were particularly passive out of possession, allowing their newly promoted opponents to build up largely undisturbed.
And that caught Le Bris by surprise, with the Frenchman telling reporters in his post-match press conference that he did not expect the “time and space” Sunderland enjoyed.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, December 3, 2025: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk reacts to conceding the first goal during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Sunderland AFC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“It’s a good result for both teams. We started well, the first half was interesting with and without the ball,” he explained.
“Probably we didn’t believe enough that it was possible to score and we did it in the beginning of the second half.”
Le Bris added: “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.
“So we spoke about this final third and the way it was possible to disturb their back line.
“We expected Salah to come on the pitch as well and to change the dynamic a bit, so we were prepared.”
Arne Slot insists he WASN’T surprised by Sunderland
This is a stark contrast to Arne Slot‘s verdict, with the Dutchman asked in his press conference whether Sunderland surprised him.
“No, they didn’t do anything that surprised me. No, no,” he replied.
“Like I said, we know that they can press really high and defend with 11 players around their box, and that is what many teams do in the Premier League.
“That’s the minimum you need to do: defend with 11 players.
“Because this league has become so strong that it’s very hard not to defend with 11 players.”
Sunderland opened the scoring through Chemsdine Talbi in the second half after an error from Virgil van Dijk, who conceded possession and then stood back to attempt to block the forward’s long-range shot – which deflected in.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, December 3, 2025: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Sunderland AFC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Questioned on his thoughts on Van Dijk’s defending in that situation, Slot backed his captain’s decision and again pointed to his belief that Liverpool are lacking luck.
“I think in the first instance, when they have the ball free 30, 35 yards away from your goal, it’s smarter to take away the space [behind you],” he said.
“Because if you step out as a centre-back, or in a different position, the other team tries to exploit that space.
“So first take away the space, but at a certain moment you move forward to the ball, which I think is what Virgil tried and luckily enough [it went in] off a deflection.
“I’ve seen so many deflected shots at the other end – where one of them led to a goal as well – but we were again unlucky that from the few chances we’ve conceded, we’ve conceded a goal.”