Sunderland still searching for a win as Le Bris keeps the faith

After a 3-1 defeat to Coventry City, Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris believes he can find the solutions to turn around their fortunes in the Premier League.

Without a win in their last seven league matches (2 draws, 5 defeats), Sunderland are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. Having collected just five points from their first nine matches, the Black Cats have made their worst start to a season since 2016-17 (two points), the campaign in which they were relegated.

Coventry City took control in the first half through goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Taiwo Awoniyi. In only the seventh minute of the second half, Jack Rudoni made it 3-0. Sunderland reduced the deficit to two through Enzo Le Fée's 67th-minute penalty, but Omar Alderete's red card in the closing stages ended any hopes of a comeback.

Reflecting on the game, Le Bris said: "It's a bad result. Ups and downs... I think that sums up both this game and our season so far. We can play good football and create clear chances, but we also make too many simple mistakes. At this level, especially in the Premier League, the opponent takes every opportunity. It's not a question of luck, it's all about us. Right now we are far too inconsistent to be efficient in this league."

The pressure is mounting on Le Bris at Sunderland, who generated 1.65 expected goals (xG) from 17 shots. The Frenchman, however, remains determined: "I came here to give everything. I'm in constant contact with the players and the club to find solutions, and I'm working very hard."

For Coventry, the win was manager Frank Lampard's side's third league victory of the season and lifted them to 15th place. Winners of three of their last five Premier League matches, Coventry have scored three or more goals in two of their last four games.

Pleased with his side's response after last week's 1-0 defeat to Fulham, Lampard said: "I'm really pleased with the performance. This week we brought the energy that was missing last week onto the pitch. We imposed ourselves on the game from the start and found some great goals."