Sunderland drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday lunchtime
Régis Le Bris said Sunderland’s point at Bournemouth was a step in the right direction after they ended their run of Premier League defeats.
The Black Cats took a deserved early lead through Eliezer Mayenda’s early goal, but were pegged back in the second half when Evanilson scored a close-range header at the back post. Le Bris said he was pleased with the character and resilience of his side, and admitted that they had perhaps not done enough to get a second goal.
At the start of a difficult week on the road, however, Le Bris felt it was a step in the right direction for his team and was pleased with the spirit shown.
“It is a good point after a run of three defeats," Le Bris said.
"We know this league is relentless and demanding. When you start to lose, it’s hard to break this dynamic. Bournemouth is a tough place to play because they are an intense, duel-driven, sprinting team. It was important to match this intensity. We showed that character and resilience, and good togetherness as well. After that, we had good periods with quality. Probably not enough to score another goal, but I am especially happy with the team spirit."
Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on refereeing controversy in Bournemouth draw
The game was marked by consistent refereeing controversy, after Enzo Le Fee was not given a penalty despite an early push from Alex Jimenez. Le Bris felt it was an important moment in the game.
He said: “I think it [penalty decision] would have changed things a lot, but it is what it is. We can’t change the decision now.”
Le Bris also hinted that he felt Tyler Adams was fortunate to avoid a red card for serious foul play in the second half, with VAR opting not to advise Jarred Gillett to review his decision to only show a yellow card.
“It [Adams on Xhaka] was a foot-on-foot challenge, and that is always dangerous. Often in this league, when you have this kind of action, it is a red card. It wasn’t, even though it was really dangerous. There were a couple of situations like that where things were just on the edge for the integrity of the players. I think it is important to protect them, even if the intensity of the game was high. It was right on the edge today.”
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