Sunderland AFC rounded off their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 victory against Stade Rennes at the Stadium of Light, with manager Régis Le Bris praising his side's second-half intensity.
The Black Cats were trailing 1-0 to a first-half penalty but dominated the second period. Brian Brobbey and Trai Hume scored the goals that secured the win.
Le Bris on second-half turnaround
"It was a good second half performance - in line with our standards," Le Bris said. "Rennes are a good team, as expected. They're good with the ball and good under pressure.
"We made it a bit easy for them in the first half. We needed to lift the intensity at half-time and we did just that."
The manager highlighted his side's improved aggression after the break. "We imposed ourselves well in the second half. We had to show more aggressiveness and the second half showed what we can do when we play at high pressure."
Le Bris also noted the positive impact of substitutes. "The subs made a good impact too - that's a good sign for the season ahead," he said.
Ipswich challenge ahead
Sunderland begin their 2025/26 Premier League season with a trip to Portman Road to face newly-promoted Ipswich Town next Saturday.
Le Bris acknowledged the step up required. "We'll need to show more against Ipswich next weekend. When we're not aggressive, it's hard to impose ourselves - when we are, you can see what we're capable of, as the second half showed.
"Ipswich will be demanding - we'll need to do more of what we did in the second half to hit the levels we need to show. We're excited for the season to start - we're looking forward to the demands of the league."
Injury update
Thomas Meunier missed the Rennes game owing to a minor knock sustained in training. The extent of that injury is still to be determined.
Le Bris provided a more positive update on two other players. "Omar is in a good place. He should train next week. Nordi isn't far off either. We're hoping they can both be available for Ipswich."
