“Unacceptable, it’s a problem”- Régis Le Bris BREAKS SILENCE on Romaine Mundle’s Shocking Reaction to Luke O’Nien’s Missed Penalty
Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris has given his candid thoughts on Luke O’Nien’s missed penalty in his side’s 1-0 victory over Millwall.
The Black Cats returned to action at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, following a two-week international break. Le Bris’ team came into the match on the back of a 3-0 loss to Coventry and a 1-1 draw with Preston. However, they managed to get back to winning ways thanks to Trai Hume’s first-half goal, which came from a well-executed set-piece involving Patrick Roberts and Romaine Mundle.
Sunderland had a chance to double their lead in the second half when Mundle was fouled in the box, earning a penalty. Unexpectedly, club captain and defender O’Nien took the spot-kick but had his effort saved. The 30-year-old had previously maintained a perfect penalty record for Sunderland, though all of his successful attempts had come in shootouts before this miss against Millwall.
There appeared to be some disagreement over the penalty, with Mundle visibly frustrated by O’Nien being chosen to take it, especially since Mundle was about to be substituted. After the miss, he was replaced by Tommy Watson.
The Black Cats have now missed their last four penalties, with Wilson Isidor failing twice against Burnley and Patrick Roberts also missing against Sheffield United earlier in the season.
When asked about the penalty struggles, Le Bris admitted: “I don’t know what to say. Yes, it’s a problem because, from an XG perspective, it’s the best chance we could have had, and at the moment, we’re struggling with it. It’s an important issue for us, both for the present and future, because with a second goal, the end of the game should have been much easier, but it wasn’t.”
Regarding O’Nien’s penalty performance, Le Bris added: “So far, Luke has been really good in training, and I think he scored before for Sunderland. But I don’t think it’s a matter of whether a defender or an attacking player is more skilled at taking penalties. We’ll work on it.”
When questioned about Mundle’s visible frustration, Le Bris explained: “It was decided before the game, but yes, he was a bit emotional. It’s not a problem, we’ll talk about it later.” On who will take the next penalty, Le Bris concluded: “I don’t know, we’ll have a conversation with the players.”
