5-4-1 MASTERCLASS: RéGIS LE BRIS EXPLAINS SUNDERLAND'S ANFIELD STRATEGY
Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris praises his team's bolder attack and consistency after securing a crucial 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
Régis Le Bris mentioned his Sunderland team felt good about their performance at Anfield after grabbing another important point in their attempt to stay in the Premier League.
The Black Cats almost got another big win when Chemsdine Talbi’s shot found the net in the second half, but Florian Wirtz scored for Liverpool, ending the game in a tie. Sunderland nearly took all three points when Wilson Isidor had a chance, but the Black Cats had to withstand pressure from Liverpool to get the point.
Le Bris said he was happy with both the performance and the result, adding that the players listened to his halftime advice to be bolder in their attacks.
“Yeah, it's positive right now,” Le Bris said about how he felt after the game.
“We could have scored a second goal, but it's still a good result for both teams. We began well, and the first half was good both when we had the ball and when we didn't. Maybe we didn't think we could score, but we did at the beginning of the second half. I think we even surprised ourselves a bit by having the time and space to play, and maybe they didn't expect us to be that good. We talked about being more dangerous and how we could cause problems for their defence. We also knew Salah would come on and change things, so we were ready.”
Even though Sunderland nearly won with Isidor's chance, Le Bris said the team was in good spirits after the match.
“Maybe they're a little bummed because they could have scored a second goal, but overall, they were proud of how they played because the game had many parts,” Le Bris said.
“We showed we could control the ball and defend with a 4-4-2 formation. Then we defended hard with five at the back, in a deep block. So, there were different situations, different parts of the game, and different feelings, but in the end, we played consistently.”
Régis Le Bris explains his Sunderland team selection at Liverpool.
Le Bris chose to play with five defenders at Anfield, but it looked a bit different with Trai Hume playing on the right wing and Enzo Le Fee playing almost as a second striker when they had the ball. This gives the Black Cats another option on how to play going forward.
“We had a few ideas,” Le Bris said.
“The main idea was to have width and keep three midfielders to start the game with Enzo, Granit, and Noah—to protect our right side because we knew they would attack from that side. With Trai on the right, we could keep the width and defend that side better in a 4-4-2 formation and fall back into a 5-4-1 naturally. Trai is very flexible and works well with Nordi. So, it was a mix of our 4-4-2 and our 5-4-1.”
Sunderland drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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