Talking Tactics: Spurs (H) — De Zerbi Outwitted By Le Bris!

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris (right) during the Premier League match at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Picture date: Sunday April 12, 2026. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images After a month away from home, Sunderland returned to the Stadium of Light looking to build on the feelgood factor with a visit from relegation-threatened Spurs, who were under new management.

Despite our poor Premier League record on Sundays when facing teams not named ‘Newcastle United’ paired with recent performances on International Fans’ Day Weekend not yielding wins, it felt like a far more uncertain match than the table suggested. With several absentees able to return to full fitness over the extended international break, how did Régis Le Bris get the better of Roberto De Zerbi and ruin the Italian’s return to English football? Sunderland lineup After an extended international break, Le Bris was able to bolster his matchday squad with the welcome return of several players back to full fitness.

The likes of Enzo Le Fée, Nordi Mukiele and Reinildo were all only fit enough to make the bench against Newcastle, but returned to the starting eleven against Spurs. Elsewhere, Melker Ellborg, Lutsharel Geertruida, Chemsdine Talbi and Trai Hume all dropped to the bench, which saw both Luke O’Nien and Chris Rigg retain their places following the derby win. The returns of Mukiele and Reinildo meant Sunderland were able to utilise their wing backs in a much more meaningful sense to create the infamous wide triangles that we’d lost due to restricted personnel in defensive positions.

Rigg assumed his position on the right wing whilst Le Fée moved back across to the left side of the three-man midfield, rotating behind Brian Brobbey up front. Without a recognised winger on the pitch, Sunderland were relying on the overlapping runs of both wing backs as well as the positional rotations of Rigg, Le Fée and Habib Diarra along the touchline in order to drag the Spurs press into areas they weren’t comfortable squeezing into. Whilst in some ways this limited the traditional one-versus-one isolated wing play we’ve been crying out for, the combination of passes in wide areas lead to some real moments of quality from a team perspective, but just lacked the finishing touches at times.