Sunderland have now switched their focus towards summer signings and those at the Stadium of Light are already working on a deal to sign a Premier League rival.
Le Bris credits "character" against "monster" Liverpool
It sums up Sunderland's season in a nutshell that it took the visit of the Premier League champions to hand them their first home defeat of the campaign, even if Liverpool have stuttered in recent months.
It was far from a routine evening for the Reds, either. Arne Slot's men were forced to wait until just after the hour mark to open the scoring through Virgil van Dijk's header, whilst attempting to keep the likes of Brian Brobbey at bay.
Regis Le Bris, whilst no doubt disappointed that Sunderland's home run has come to an end, could only praise his side's "character" against an impressive Liverpool side on the night.
The Frenchman told reporters: "I think we showed it this evening, it wasn’t easy for Liverpool to win here. It’s the most important thing for me.
"We want to be brave, we want to be intense and we want to be hard to play, it was the case. After that the result is the result, you can’t control everything."
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The Black Cats could get one over on their rivals.
He then continued, saying: "We had three or four opportunities, but probably we did not create enough. This last pass, the last touch and final decision today it wasn’t so clean.
"It is what it is, I’ll repeat, four days after Arsenal we had to go again against a monster and we showed great character, great identity, but it wasn’t enough."
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris
There are still plenty of positives to take for the Black Cats, who will not let that defeat mask what has been an excellent season. With survival on the cards and perhaps even more, they've even put themselves in a strong position to land several summer targets.
Sunderland working on Tyrell Malacia deal
One of those targets is Tyrell Malacia. According to Sports Boom, Sunderland are now working on a deal to sign Malacia at the end of the season, when his current Manchester United contract expires.
The left-back has endured a tumultuous time in recent years and has made just three Premier League appearances in the last two seasons combined. If anyone needs a fresh start after such disastrous injury issues, it is the Dutchman.
Tyrell Malacia Injury History Days Missed Games Missed
23/24 - Knee injury 500 70
21/22 - Hamstring injury 13 1
21/22 - Minor knock 4 1
Malacia's knee injury in the 2023/24 campaign took one of Man United's most promising players away and sent him to a career crossroads which may yet lead to Sunderland.
At 26 years old, this is still a player who could get back to his best. He just needs the minutes to do so. It's also worth noting, amid interest from Sunderland, that Malacia was dubbed "outstanding" by Man United legend Rio Ferdinand before his injury in 2022.