Sunderland defeated Leeds United 1-0 away from home despite being dominated for most of the game.
The home side spent most of the match on the front foot, taking the game to the visitors. Daniel Farke’s men had 70% possession overall, their highest tally in the Premier League this season.
Still, nothing came from it. They recorded 18 shots, but accumulated zero big chances and just 1.1 expected goals.
And despite creating very few chances of their own, the Black Cats were lucky enough that Ethan Ampadu took his hand to the ball inside the box. And maybe even more lucky that Karl Darlow couldn’t save Habib Diarra’s penalty.
But before all of that, Regis Le Bris performed one tactical tweak that made the opposition cool off after a strong start.
How did Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland nullify Leeds?
Zonal vs man-oriented press
Leeds started well, with a few players performing multiple roles in and out of possession. James Justin often switched between right centre-back and right-back, while Jayden Bogle went from right wing-back to right-midfielder on the same frequency.
Ilia Gruev was the key, though. The centre-midfielder became a left-sided centre-back in-possession but reverted to the second line out of it.
He was responsible for connecting the attacking-midfielders and forwards with better passing than the centre-backs. Bear in mind, he was also pressing high up the pitch whenever they lost the ball.
The double-right-back look also made it so that Leeds had more bodies to attack down that side – their preferred one. Or, when they played down the left, to attack the box in crosses from the opposite wing.
The constant movement – especially from Brenden Aaronson and Anton Stach – caused a lot of troubles for Sunderland’s usual 4-4-2 zonal defensive block.
But one key moment changed everything. Luke O’Nien, right-back for the night, was caught defending both of the Leeds men mentioned above at the same time. He looked at the touchline and immediately signaled a ‘two’ with his hand.
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Just a few minutes later, debutant goalkeeper Melker Ellborg mysteriously fell to the ground with an alleged hamstring issue. Meanwhile, Regis Le Bris gathered his team and gave them instructions.
Immediately after that, we saw the Black Cats press higher up the pitch in a man-oriented fashion. Suddenly, all the Leeds midfielders had no more breathing room to operate when receiving the ball. There was always a Sunderland player on their backs.
Few options left
This turned what was already an unentertaining game into constant long balls and aerial duels. It could have suited Leeds’ style with Dominic Calvert-Lewin being more involved, looking for flick-ons. But they didn’t win many second balls.
Sunderland, on the other hand, were always looking to go long in order to find Eliezer Mayenda in behind. So if Leeds went long with no success, the Black Cats would recover possession and do the same. And, just like the home side, fail.
All of a sudden, there were very few margins for the players to work. The only options remaining to score were set pieces and individual mistakes. If you think about it, Sunderland scored their goal from both at the same time.
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But before that, these two actually started more in Leeds’ favour. A few Stach direct free-kicks and crosses from corners, but that ultimately led to nothing. Then, Sunderland gave the ball away twice in dangerous positions.
The main one with Omar Alderete inside their own box. But Calvert-Lewin, Stach, Aaronson and Bogle all failed to capitalise. The other one came after Sadiki lost possession down the left and O’Nien gave away a foul near the penalty area.
In the second half, Leeds actually scored from a set piece. However, Joe Rodon was offside and the referee ruled it out. It looked like Sunderland had nothing going for them, except for frustrating the opposition. But three minutes later, Ethan Ampadu handled the ball inside the box.
Habib Diarra didn’t take the best of penalty kicks, but scored nevertheless. It was enough to give the Black Cats the edge and all three points.
From then on, 32 minutes (20 in regulation and 12 of extra time) of pure low block. Diarra’s attempt from the spot was Sunderland’s final shot in the whole game.
They actually tied the record for fewest shots in a Premier League win this season, with three. The other two sides to reach this tally were Everton (vs Manchester United) and Crystal Palace (vs Burnley).
Now, the Black Cats ended a four-game winless run in the league. They have guaranteed another week of sitting, at worst, 12th in the table (currently 11th).
Sunderland might not have done enough to deserve the win, but certainly made sure Leeds didn’t either.