How will Sunderland cope without Reinildo during AFCON?
Sunderland fell to a 3-0 defeat against Man City at the Etihad Stadium on Friday afternoon
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland struggled to produce the required level of intensity as they fell to a 3-0 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Goals from Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol put the hosts in a commanding position at the break and the Black Cats rallied and had good chances through Wilson Isidor and Granit Xhaka in the second half, Phil Foden's header settled the contest.
Though Sunderland had some decent spells in the game, there could be no argument about the final result but Le Bris felt his side weren't able to reach the intensity they had found at Liverpool.
"Yeah, probably the difficulty to repeat performances at the high level [was the reason for the result]," Le Bris said.
"Three days ago we were in Liverpool and I think we showed a really strong version of Sunderland, but today maybe a lack of intensity, it wasn't enough to be competitive. We defended well, we tried to build up under pressure, but it wasn't enough to be competitive."
Le Bris brought off both Xhaka and Noah Sadiki following Foden's goal. Le Bris didn't feel the looming derby was a key reason for Sunderland's performance and was keen to stress that it had been a positive week for the club on the whole having taken four points from three games.
"Maybe a bit, it's possible. For many reasons, today we were not the best version of Sunderland, but it's still interesting to live and to experience those kind of situations. We played against probably one of the best teams in Europe, they were for me fresh and really competitive.
"We tried, I don't think the derby was in our mind because I think the players tried to give their best, but it wasn't enough. I think it was a good week for us, four points. It's not unusual to lose and concede situations against Man City, I think we won't be the only team this season to struggle here.
"We'll learn from different experiences and we'll be ready for the derby."
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Sunderland suffer Luke O’Nien blow ahead of Newcastle United game
Luke O’Nien will miss three Premier League matches after being shown a red card in the closing stages of Sunderland’s defeat to Manchester City.
O’Nien arrived late to a challenge on Matheus Nunes only moments after being introduced as a second-half substitute, and though a yellow card was initially shown, the decision was reversed after a VAR review. The Premier League match centre have released a statement explaining the decision, saying that O’Nien had endangered an opponent.
He’ll now miss the game against Newcastle United next weekend, as well as the trip to face Brighton and the clash with Leeds United just after Christmas. It’s a blow to Régis Le Bris as he will lose Reinildo and Arthur Masuaku to AFCON after next weekend’s game.
The Premier League match centre tweeted: “After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of yellow card to O'Nien and issued a red card for serious foul play. Referee announcement: “After review, Sunderland No.13 commits a challenge which endangers the safety of the opponent. My final decision is red card.”
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