Sunderland drew 0-0 with Manchester United at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon

Régis Le Bris said the disappointment in the dressing room and the Stadium of Light stands after drawing 0-0 with Manchester United was a positive sign for Sunderland’s future.

The Black Cats played well against an in-form side, and had the better chances to take all three points. Senne Lammens made an excellent early save when Noah Sadiki ran though on goal, and then denied Brian Brobbey from close range in the second half.

Le Bris said he was pleased with the balance in his team’s performance and in the end disappointed they could not be more clinical.

“Yes, [we are] a bit disappointed not to win,” Le Bris said.

“It was the mood in the dressing room, probably in the stands as well, which is a good sign. We created probably enough chances at least to score and I think we defended it well.

“We conceded one shot on target just at the end against a strong squad with many good players and game changers. So, overall, the game was positive because it's always a balance, the way you defend and you work hard as a team to control different players and patterns. At the same time, you want to control the game, so taking risks under pressure sometimes to create chances. Last game at home it was not a good balance but I think today it was. We were just not clinical enough in the final third.”

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RLB: Man Utd performance shows we are back to our foundations

Le Bris said he was pleased to see his players respond well to a heavy defeat on home turf last time out against Nottingham Forest, and that they had learned the lessons from what went wrong in that game.

“We are back to our foundations, I think,” Le Bris said.

“In the Premier League, it's not unusual to fail. Chelsea lost four, five, six games in a row and they are a good team with great players. Our first year in the Premier League, after eight seasons I think it's normal [to struggle], but the most important thing is the way you react. So, what you can learn from the tough experience? I think we didn't find the right balance against Forest. We were brave with the ball, but turned the ball over too many times. Then, conceded a transition set-piece and it's not possible in this league.

“So, it helped because the analysis was strong and difficult, but you need to experience difficult situations to go forward and it was the case. So, today we had a good balance between the good protection on one side, very well organised, good pressing, man-for-man, deep block. I think we conceded only one shot on target.

“On the other side, when we felt it was possible to play under pressure, we did. We tried and when it was impossible we went a bit longer to get the second ball. So, it was a good balance.”

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