Régis Le Bris addresses Sunderland’s defensive issues and explains what is going wrong at set pieces

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris has addressed the club's ongoing defensive struggles and vulnerability at set pieces following consecutive defeats to Coventry City and Dinamo Zagreb. Despite possessing one of the poorest defensive records in the Premier League, Le Bris maintained that he will not abandon Sunderland's man-for-man pressing identity, though he confirmed minor tactical adjustments are being made to prevent the team from being regularly exposed on counterattacks.

Le Bris also explained the recurring issues defending set pieces, pointing to lapses that led to identical goals conceded against Lech Poznan and Dinamo Zagreb. He emphasized that players mistakenly left opponents unmarked on the edge of the penalty box due to human error and emotion rather than tactical instruction, adding that internal dressing-room discussions took place to ensure the mistake is not repeated.