Carlos Corberan and Regis Le Bris had a very tactical battle in their clash at the Stadium of Light, with West Brom taking a point from Sunderland.
Sunderland hosted West Brom at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, in a game between two sides eyeing promotion to the Premier League this season.
The Black Cats started the night in 2nd place of the Championship table and West Brom in 7th. And Regis Le Bris’ side were on top for much of the game, simply unable to break through a very defensive Baggies outfit as the game ended 0-0.
For Le Bris, there were some good and some not so good individual player performances on the night, with Sunderland fans critical of Tommy Watson’s performance against West Brom.
But defensively, Sunderland were sound. West Brom offered very little threat on the night and speaking after the game, Corberan agreed that Sunderland were perhaps the better team.
Carlos Corberan admits Sunderland bested West Brom in goalless draw
Speaking to West Brom’s official club website after the game, Corberan made no mistake in admitting that Sunderland were the better team on the night.
The Black Cats had a staggering 17 goal attempts compared to the Baggies’ two, finishing the game with an xG of 0.8 compared to West Brom’s 0.46.
Corberan said: “It’s true, it wasn’t our best display and Sunderland were probably better than us. They created more chances than us, but I value the mentality of the team so much.”
James Copley also revealed after the game that Corberan said Sunderland are ‘one of the best teams in the Championship’.
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Why Regis Le Bris will be so pleased with Carlos Corberan’s comments
In recent weeks, the Black Cats faithful has had a lot to say about Le Bris and his style of play.
Sunderland fans blasted Le Bris after the draw against Millwall last time out, highlighting his side’s habit of sitting too far back after taking the lead.
Then after the West Brom game, Sunderland fans were critical of the sometimes boring style of play under Le Bris, at least in recent weeks.
But it’s easy to forget that Sunderland are in 3rd place of the Championship table, and that they’ve just completely outplayed a strong West Brom side who have a good manager of their own in Corberan.
So for Corberan to suggest that Sunderland deserved the win, it tells us that the Black Cats remain on the right track, albeit lacking that bit of killer instinct on Tuesday night.
There’s no need for a complete fan review of Le Bris just yet. His side remain a very formidable Championship outfit, whose idea of a dip in form is going 10 games unbeaten.