Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on Sunderland's draw with Liverpool and reveals dressing-room reaction

Régis Le Bris said his Sunderland side were proud of their efforts at Anfield after securing another valuable point in their bid for Premier League survival.

The Black Cats were close to sealing another famous win when Chemsdine Talbi’s deflected effort found the far corner in the second half, but an equaliser from Florian Wirtz secured a draw for Liverpool. Sunderland almost snatched three points late on when Wilson Isidor ran through on goal, but the Black Cats had to survive a significant wave of pressure from the home side to secure the point.

Le Bris said he was pleaded with both the performance and the result, and that the players took his half-time message to be bolder in their attacking on board.

“Positive at the minute, to be fair,” Le Bris said of his main emotion after the game.

“We had this opportunity to score the second goal, but it's a good result for both teams. We started well, the first half was interesting with and without the ball. Probably we didn't believe enough that it was possible to score and we did it in the beginning of the second half. 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. We spoke about this final third and the way it was possible to disturb their back line. We expected Salah as well to come on the pitch and to change a bit the dynamics, so we were prepared.”

While Sunderland had come close to winning late on through Isidor, Le Bris said the mood in the dressing room after the game was a positive one.

“Maybe they are a little bit [disappointed] because it was possible we had this opportunity to score the second goal, but mainly they were proud of the way they played because we had different phases in that game,” Le Bris said.

“Dominant with the ball, good in our 4-4-2. Then we worked hard in our back five, 5-4-1 in the low block. So different scenarios, different phases, different emotions, at the end we were consistent.”

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Régis Le Bris explains his Sunderland team selection at Liverpool

While Le Bris reverted to a back five at Anfield, it had a slightly different look with Trai Hume pushed up on the right wing and Enzo Le Fee playing as a second striker in possession. It gives the Black Cats another option tactically moving forward.

“We had different ideas,” Le Bris said.

“The first one was to keep the width and keep three midfielders to start the game with Enzo, Granit and Noah - to protect our right side because we expected this side to be strong. With Trai off the right it was possible to hold the width, and to protect a bit more this side in 4-4-2. Then in 5-4-1 like a natural drop. So Trai is really versatile, well connected with Nordi as well. So it was like a mix between our 4-4-2 and our 5-4-1.”

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