- Sunderland beat Tottenham 1-0
- Regis Le Bris pleased by victory
- Praises his team’s adaptability
Regis Le Bris has given his take on Sunday’s proceedings after Sunderland got the better of Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light.
Beating Tottenham Hotspur has not been that hard a task for many teams in the Premier League this season.
Indeed, the North London club have suffered defeats in half their league fixtures and currently sit inside the relegation zone.
However, Sunderland were walking into last weekend’s game with a lot of unknown factors, considering neither team had played in three weeks due to the international break.
On top of this, Spurs replaced Igor Tudro with Roberto De Zerbi, which meant the Black Cats could only predict how their opponent would set themselves up to play.
Regis Le Bries was pleased with Sunderland’s performance
Like many of Sunderland’s results this season, their match against Tottenham was won by a single goal.
Ultimately, even wins by the narrowest of margins count, and it actually shows that Le Bries’ team are clearly doing something right.
The Frenchman has highlighted how Sunderland found a way to win by adapting to the unknowns of why lay ahead of them.
'We won’t play like Guardiola or De Zerbi, because we are Sunderland…
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) April 13, 2026
and I am Régis Le Bris.'
🥶 pic.twitter.com/HRriR2IDnH
He told the official Sunderland website: “In this industry you have to win and it is all about finding a way to win.
“It was a tough game to prepare for after a long break and with a new coach for Tottenham.
“The lads did well because we had to be adaptable and we were still proactive to read and fix different problems while also imposing our game at the same time.”
Sunderland could have created more chances
Although Sunderland got the job done, Le Bris felt more opportunities could have been crafted by his players.
The hosts did create some chances in the first half, but these were rarely the result of fluid attacking moves.
In fact, Nordi Mukiele’s second half winner only carried 0.04 xG, but found the net after a big deflection off Micky van de Ven.
Nordi Mukiele's shot deflects off Micky van de Ven and ends up in the back of the net! 💥 pic.twitter.com/oPqTbBSFpS
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026
“We didn’t have many chances but we had a few opportunities close to the box,” Le Bris continued.
“The last pass wasn’t always perfect but I think overall we were good this afternoon.
“It was about key moments. We had our chances and the goal came from a deflection – importantly, though, it is still a goal for us.”
Winning was key for the Black Cats
It would have been nice for Sunderland to win by playing scintillating football, but what matters is that they did enough to claim three points.
More significantly, Le Bris led his side to a first home victory since the beginning of February after three consecutive defeats at their own ground.
| Sunderland’s five most recent home results |
| Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur – April 12 |
| Sunderland 0-1 Brighton & Hove Albion – March 14 |
| Sunderland 1-3 Fulham – February 22 |
| Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool – February 11 |
| Sunderland 3-0 Burnley – February 2 |
“Small details make a difference at this level,” the manager added. “I liked the energy in the team after three defeats in a row at home. It was important to rebuild our fortress.
“After having no game for three weeks, it was important to get back to winning ways and I appreciated the energy of the group.
“The lads are ambitious – they want to win. We can set a new target but it is all about standards – the way we want to work and the way we want to improve our game.
“There will be different challenges – today [Sunday] was tough – but we found a way to win today and I am happy.”
Sunderland face Aston Villa next
The Mackems are now on a two-match winning streak and will be looking to continue with a win at Villa Park this coming Sunday.
Aston Villa remain in the top four of the Premier League, but have suffered a number of disappointing results since the turn of the calendar year.
Most recently, Unai Emery’s team were held to a draw by Nottingham Forest, so Sunderland will fancy their chances. Especially since Villa only scraped a point at the Stadium of Light last September, despite Reinildo Mandava being sent off in the 33rd minute.
Another advantage the visitors will have is that Aston Villa are in action against Bologna, so they do not have long to recover before the Premier League clash, which kicks off at 2pm UK time.
