Regis Le Bris’ recent claim about how to best use one Sunderland player has been disproved by a breathtaking stat.
Sunderland’s recent Championship clash saw them comfortably defeat a deflated Luton Town side, with Regis Le Bris’ team beating them 2-0.
Goals were scored by French pair Wilson Isidor and Enzo Le Fee, with the latter becoming quite the fan favourite at the club after his recent performances.
However, once again the game saw Eliezer Mayenda utilised from off the bench, with the Spaniard only being handed 12 minutes of action in the victory.
Despite receiving criticism on occasions for Le Bris’ recent decisions to bench Mayenda, which has happened four times in a row, the French boss has stood by how he uses the Spaniard, but one key statistic proves that it is far less effective than he seems to believe.
Eliezer Mayenda record off the bench for Sunderland should provide wake up call for Regis Le Bris
In the last four games, Sunderland boss Le Bris has utilised Mayenda in the final minutes off the bench, a role that he has deemed to be ‘perfect’ for the goalscorer.
The Spaniard in total has started 14 games, whilst coming on as a substitute in 10 in the Championship. He has notched four goals and five assists all season, which is a decent return for someone in the breakthrough season, but none of these goal contributions have fallen in any of his substitute showings.
This totals 149 minutes that Mayenda has not been able to make an impact from off the bench, where he averages a goal contribution every 130 minutes when he starts in the Championship.
Eliezer Mayenda has proven to deserve more prominent first-team role
At the start of the 2024/25 Championship campaign, Sunderland striker Mayenda was certainly not expected to play a significant part in Le Bris’ side, and his performances have taken many by surprise.
With his respectable record in the Championship this season, which includes games that have seen him utilised out of position on the left flank, it should be the case that he is handed more action than Le Bris is currently giving him.
Fellow striker Isidor has already spoken about his preferences in terms of playing as a front two, and recent games, including 2-2 draws against Plymouth Argyle and Watford have shown the formation to be inconsistent.