Sunderland drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday lunchtime
Régis Le Bris praised Eliezer Mayenda for taking his opportunity in Brian Brobbey’s absence at Bournemouth.
Brobbey’s groin injury left the Sunderland head coach with a big decision to make as to who led the line at the Vitality Stadium, and he was rewarded as the youngster scored his first goal since the win over West Ham United on the opening day of the campaign. Above and beyond his goal, though, the striker impressed his head coach with his competitive performance as Sunderland brought an end to their losing run with the 1-1 draw.
“They [Mayenda and Isidor] have two different profiles: Today, the profile of Eli was better suited to this game,” Le Bris said.
“He did well. He defended from the front with the rest of the team and had good, strong body language to show that he was giving everything for us. He did well in the duels, and he got in behind when it was needed. He sniffed the opportunity to score, which is really important for a striker.”
Sunderland head coach issues update on Bertrand Traoré and Granit Xhaka
Le Bris also confirmed that Granit Xhaka’s withdrawal with 15 minutes to play was a pre-planned substitution, and so the influential midfielder should be available to face Leeds United on Tuesday night.
Contending with a number of injuries, Le Bris was pleased to have Bertrand Traoré back in his squad at Bournemouth. The experienced winger was a second-half substitute and will be assessed in the coming days as to what level of involvement he can have at Leeds.
“We will see how Bertrand is for Tuesday,” Le Bris said.
“We will need Bertrand in the rest of the season because of the level that he is able to produce. He has already shown his maturity this season, and the way that he can manage that position on the right side. In this league, we need the kind of maturity that Bertrand can give us. That’s why getting him back, along with Granit is really important. But in terms of what level he will be at for Tuesday, let’s wait and see.
“Granit came off because we wanted to manage his workload, there wasn’t a problem. It was planned before the game. We have to progress gradually, and that was part of the plan.”
Continue Reading