Talking Tactics: Burnley (A) How Regis Le Bris (almost!) got the better of Scott Parker

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Sunderland took a point from the best defence in the League on Friday but really should've had all three. So, how did Regis Le Bris buckle Burnley?

Sunderland returned to League action on Friday night in a bid to close the gap on the summit of the Championship away at Turf Moor In what was a closely contested game, neither team could be separated, and a 0-0 draw meant Sunderland returned back to the North East with a share of the spoils – although the performance in the second 45 should have won the game pretty comfortably.

So, how did Le Bris set up his side in the second half?

Sunderland Line-Up

With Aji Alese injured and Patrick Roberts rested the week prior, Sunderland were expected to make at least two changes to the side that were victorious against Portsmouth in the previous league fixture, with Dennis Cirkin and Roberts both coming back into the side in their usual roles. With Chris Rigg returning from injury, he too slotted into his familiar position in midfield, but a surprise debut was handed to new signing Enzo Le Fee on the left wing to replace Adil Aouchiche.

As suspected Sunderland switched back to their usual 4-3-3 shape with Le Fee coming in on the left and Rigg operating in that advanced number eight role in possession but pushing up alongside Wilson Isidor to form a 4-4-2 out of possession. Given Burnley's heavily passive possession figures Sunderland weren't expected to have much of the ball during the game, looking to exploit Burnley in transition – something that ideally suits RLB's typical philosophy. Burnley do incredibly well to limit transition opportunities though, and that's something we'll touch on later on.

Opposition line-up

Scott Parker made one change himself from the Clarets' last league encounter, in which they came away from Ewood Park with a 1-0 victory. The only change saw Jeremy Sarmiento make way for Lyle Foster on the left-hand side. Burnley's ever-present backline remained in for this one having managed to shut out the vast majority of the league at home, only conceding four times at Turf Moor and no more than once in any of those games.

Burnley set up in a traditional 4-2-3-1 with Brownhill and Cullen operating in a usual double pivot to protect their back four. While in possession Burnley tend to operate as two separate units, both of the midfield pairing form a back six with their defensive line and then the attacking players isolate themselves further forward as a unit of four, meaning that when Burnley do turn the ball over there are plenty of numbers in the defensive third to smother counter-attacks before they create any real danger.

Feeling the opposition out

The first half of this game offered very little in terms of moments of magic from a neutral perspective, however it was fascinating to see how both teams were settling into the patterns of play adopted by each other As discussed, what makes Burnley such an interesting side is their unique approach to possession football.

Normally, when discussing possession-heavy sides such as Swansea or Leeds, the clear weakness is when turnovers occur in the opposition's final third and teams are able to quickly spring in transition to catch the side that have overcommitted bodies forward while in control of the ball. In stark contrast, Burnley retain and recycle the ball far more in the middle third of the pitch.

By holding possession in a 'neutral' area of the pitch they entice the opposition to venture out of their defensive shape to press ball carriers only then to rely on vertical transitions to advance up the pitch, often culminating in long diagonal balls with the aim of feeding their wingers who've made runs in behind the advancing defensive line.

Whilst we're not seeing the goal-greedy Parker of old with his Bournemouth and Fulham teams that got promoted with ridiculous goalscoring prowess, we're seeing a different style of play now that focuses much more on the war of attrition. At the expense of any real attacking output, Burnley work in a way that they know they'll come away with a clean sheet at worst, and it's up to their forwards to secure the three points.

Sunderland's shape and press

Following a first half that only really saw half-chances from Jadon Anthony after springing Cirkin on the long diagonal, Sunderland took the game to Burnley during the second 45 and really demonstrated the work Le Bris does behind the scenes researching his opponents. Sunderland raised their defensive line and structured their pressing triggers around the ball progression of Josh Brownhill.

Once the midfielder progressed beyond his usual position Sunderland deployed their press and helped to smother any Burnley moves from materialising, ultimately limiting the hosts to just four shots in the second half, one of which came in the opening minute of the second half and two others coming from set pieces, Jadon Antony was the only other player to record a shot from open play and made it very much one-way traffic as the game progressed.

Le Fee, Le Fwah

Despite having not completed a full 90 minutes since 31st of October, Enzo Le Fee showed some real signs of quality during his debut. Completing 3/6 of his dribbles, seven recoveries and creating one big chance, the Frenchman looked a cut above despite operating in an unfamiliar position and only a handful of training sessions with his new teammates.

Most impressively for me was his ability to retain possession and prove to be press-resistant in a league far more physically imposing than he's used to. Special mentions for the stunning turn and through ball to Isidor that saw the forward smash the outside of the post – the passing range on his weaker foot was a joy to watch and I'm sure we'll see many more balls like that once Le Fee begins to operate more centrally.

Chance Creation Metrics

It's hard to ignore the two penalty misses that skew with the final metrics from this game however those chances aside, Sunderland managed to create an xG of 1.15 from Open Play (2.85xG inc Penalties), which demonstrates that the underlying data behind our results is still trending in an upward direction despite the maximum points haul not coming our way. To add some context to this, of the sides Burnley have faced at Turf Moor this season Sunderland rank comfortably highest for xG created before even adding in the penalty numbers. Middlesborough drew 1-1 and only registered 0.88xG and Blackburn only 0.31xG back in August, demonstrating when compared with our result at Brammall Lane, we've given both sides the best games they've faced at home this season so far.

Strength in depth

With Sunderland now having several options off the bench that Le Bris trusts, making subs earlier is something we're becoming more accustomed to. Mayenda and Ballard were introduced as the second half wore on and helped to sustain Sunderland's attacking output into the closing stages of the game.

With Mundle and Watson not far from returning to first team training and Jenson Seelt now back in contention, squad rotation around the 70-minute mark looks to be far more common as we look to turn those draws into wins.

Protecting Rigg

In only his second game since his return from an ankle injury, Chris Rigg came back into the side and unfortunately didn't have one of his more impactful games. The teenager only completed 13 passes during his time on the pitch and struggled to make an impact in the ways we've come to expect.

That's okay though, and sometimes as fans we don't appreciate the hard work Rigg does off the ball, leading the press alongside Isidor while also always trying to act as a passing outlet for Hume and Roberts at all times helps to keep us ticking over.

Hopefully we don't make the same mistake with Rigg as we've made in the past with Callum Doyle, Neil and Jobe. With Le Fee coming in to give the teenager a chance to get himself back up to full speed and confidence with plenty of games left to go.

Pushing on

While three points at Turf Moor would've ended Burnley's unbeaten home run and helped close the gap at the top of the league, a point is nothing to be ashamed of. With games against Derby tonight and Plymouth on Saturday, Sunderland will be looking to put both sides to the sword and gain some ground on the opposition with Sheffield, Leeds and Burnley all due to face one another in the coming weeks.

While I was extremely frustrated come the final whistle on Friday night, after an opportunity to reflect we can only see this as yet another marker for how well our team can perform and sets us up well for what seems to be a thrilling few weeks before we culminate in a trip to Elland Road.