Regis Le Bris reveals secret to impressive Sunderland stat that sets them apart in Premier League

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Sunderland battled to a draw against Everton at the Stadium of Light on Monday night, in a game which further exemplified the core qualities of Regis Le Bris’ team.

Having gone into the game as firm favourites given their recent form, Sunderland were stunned by Everton in the first half, with Iliman Ndiaye’s stunning solo goal separating the teams at the interval.

Immediately after the break, Sunderland fired back with Granit Xhaka’s first goal for the club. Try as they might, the Black Cats couldn’t make the breakthrough to take the lead, and the shares were spoiled.

While many believe Sunderland were denied a penalty for a Michael Keane handball, the 1-1 draw adds a valuable point to the newly-promoted side’s tally for the season, and extends a brilliant record the Black Cats hold.

• READ MORE: Granit Xhaka makes honest admission on emotional Arsenal return with Sunderland

Sunderland can fight back from losing positions

That is now eight points Sunderland have won after coming back from losing positions, more than any other team in the Premier League at this stage of the season. To put that into perspective, the Black Cats only won six points from losing positions in the entirety of the 2016/17 campaign when they were last in the top flight.

Regis Le Bris made some mistakes against Everton, particularly with his tactical setup from the start, but he and the team adapted and ended the game on top.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	ArsenalArsenal	10	8	1	1	18	3	15	25
2	Manchester CityManchester City	10	6	1	3	20	8	12	19
3	LiverpoolLiverpool	10	6	0	4	18	14	4	18
4	SunderlandSunderland	10	5	3	2	12	8	4	18
5	BournemouthBournemouth	10	5	3	2	17	14	3	18
6	TottenhamTottenham	10	5	2	3	17	8	9	17

Indeed, Granit Xhaka insisted Sunderland should have won the game. That may be the case, but the fact of the matter is, the Black Cats just keep fighting until the end.

Discussing this trend in his post-match interview, Regis Le Bris said: “It’s really important because we face different scenarios, it’s obvious. Sometimes you start well, you don’t know why… other times you start how we did today and you don’t know why but we know we can switch momentum.

“All the time we are still connected with our ideas and it’s the best way to get back into games.”

• READ MORE: Sunderland have a secret weapon this season after incredible summer transfer window

Relentless spirit was key to Sunderland promotion, too

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Sunderland are so adept at clawing their way back into games. In fact, it was a key element of their promotion-winning campaign in the Championship last year.

Over the 46-game season, the Black Cats earned 18 points from losing positions, with only three teams managing to get more (Sheffield Wednesday with 24, Bristol City with 21, and league champions Leeds United with 19).

Sunderland also came back from a goal down against Coventry City in the play-off semi-final second leg, with Dan Ballard’s last-gasp header at the Stadium of Light steering them into the final.

And, of course, there we saw Sunderland win the day at Wembley thanks to another goal in the dying moments, with Tommy Watson the hero of the hour against Sheffield United.

With that kind of fighting spirit very clearly ingrained within this squad, pre-season predictions of relegation for Sunderland should be dismissed as nonsense. This is a team that does not know how to give up, and that’s so invaluable in a newly-promoted team.