Troy Deeney moots ‘crazy’ Sunderland scenario after what he saw in Bournemouth win
Troy Deeney has been blown away by the job Regis Le Bris is doing at Sunderland.
In dramatic fashion, Sunderland secured a 3-2 victory at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, despite being 2-0 down inside 15 minutes.
Goals from Enzo Le Fee, Bertrand Traore and Brian Brobbey flipped the game on its head, allowing the Black Cats to maintain their unbeaten home record.
Le Fee in particular has earned his plaudits for his display at the Stadium of Light, though Deeney has turned to Le Bris to direct his prasie, and he is the latest pundit to moot European football for the Black Cats.
Two Sunderland figures named in Premier League Team of the Week
Granit Xhaka was outsniping once again for Sunderland, as he has been ever since he walked through the door from Leverkusen.
His assist for Traore’s goal showcased his quality, and as a result, Deeney has named him in his BBC Sport Team of the Week, and not for the first time.
On his inclusion, he said: “The boss. Sunderland ground out a hard-fought, resilient result and mentally dominated Bournemouth. Xhaka was at the heart of it.
- 79% pass accuracy
- Two chances created
- 43% cross accuracy
- Five recoveries
- Five duels won
“Everything with quality came through him as well. Signing of the season so far. He looks like an absolute steal, and you start to wonder how Sunderland sold him on the venture.”
Via FotMob, Xhaka created two chances against Bournemouth, won five defensive duels, and completed 44 of his 56 attempted passes.
However, he wasn’t the only Sunderland figure to emerge with praise, with Deeney also holding Le Bris in high regard.
Sunderland are contenders for European football
At the start of the season, every single Sunderland fan would have snapped your hand off to finish 17th and scrape survival.
However, with 22 points after 13 games, and the Black Cats sitting in sixth, something far more special could be in store come the end of the campaign, and Deeney is the latest to say it while praising the impact of Le Bris.
After naming the Frenchman as his Manager of the Week, he said: “He keeps delivering. Sunderland have overperformed this season and are in sixth place.
“If they keep going at this rate they will end up in Europe, which would be crazy. To think most people wrote off Sunderland and now they are in a situation where they are more or less safe before Christmas.
“I think he’s been fantastic this weekend – two goals down against Bournemouth and not only does he keep his head and keep his team calm, but Sunderland get a 3-2 win and keep on going. He has never taken his eye off the ball, really impressive.”
Under his stewardship, Sunderland have averaged 1.62 points per game over the last two seasons, with a +16 goal difference from the 65 matches he has been in charge of.
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