news-engine

← lens

RC Lens boss delivers verdict on Sunderland and what went wrong for his side

· Phil Smith · 2026-08-09 · nguồn gốc

RC Lens boss delivers verdict on Sunderland and what went wrong for his side in defeat Sunderland were 2-0 winners in the 1906 Trophy game against RC Lens RC Lens Dino Toppmöller said Sunderland showed they were a 'top quality' side in Saturday's pre-season friendly at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday. Toppmöller succeeded Pierre Sage as head coach at the Ligue 1 club this summer, with Sage moving to Sunderland's Premier League rivals Crystal Palace. The two sides played out a tight first half in which Sunderland just about had the better of the chances, with Thomas Meunier having a goal ruled out just before the interval. Though Lens started the second half well, Sunderland took control and in the end ran out deserved and comfortable winners thanks to goals from Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor. The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel. “They’re a good Premier League team, it was clear they were top quality," Toppmöller said in his post-match review. "The first half was evenly matched. But we were rushing the press too early with the wing-backs, and then we were getting caught out of position. In the second half, we started the first 15 minutes well, but then we were too passive defensively. On the first goal, we weren’t well positioned on the cross. On the second goal, we made a pressing error. We can do better with the ball, we weren’t calm enough, we didn’t find the spaces, especially when switching play. We need to do that much more often. We had a very good preseason, even if we’re not happy with the result. We saw some good things, and things to work on.” Toppmöller confirmed that he had fielded first-team players to share the game time earlier in the day, with a young Sunderland side beaten 4-1 at the home of CS Avion. RC Lens begin their competitive campaign this week as they face PSG in the Trophée des Champions. Your next Sunderland read: Thomas Meunier - How Sunderland convinced me to sign in five minutes and the dream I'm about to realise