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Sunderland 2-1 Stade Rennais: Everything you need to know Sunderland concluded their pre-season campaign against Stade Rennais at the Stadium of Light on Saturday Sunderland ended their pre-season campaign with a flourish as they came from behind to beat Stade Rennais 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. Goals from Brian Brobbey and Trai Hume helped turn the contest after Esteban Lepaul’s first-half penalty, and in truth the Black Cats should have scored more. Though Stade Rennais had shaded the first half and proved a very strong opponent, Sunderland were completely dominant by the end of the contest as their substitutes once again showed Régis Le Bris they are ready to make an impact this season. The visitors have big ambitions for the new campaign and started brightly, pressing high and pushing Sunderland back onto the edge of their own box. The hosts were more than a touch fortunate four minutes in when Esteban Lepaul found space on the edge of the area, last season's top scorer in Ligue 1 flashing an effort just wide of Robin Roefs' far post. Sunderland did begin to grow in confidence after those initial exchanges, the flow of the game altering slightly as Stade Rennais began to play predominantly on the counter. Sunderland came close on a couple of occasions to forging a couple of clear chances, with one wicked Xhaka free kick just evading Reinildo and Brobbey twice jus tunable to get a shot away when almost played through on goal. The Black Cats were playing into dangerous areas well enough, but were on more than one occasion pushed back by quick transitions. Szymanski flashed one effort just wide from the edge of the area when allowed to shoot and moments later beat Dan Ballard to a loose ball in the box to earn a penalty. Lepaul made no mistake, stepping up and smashing his effort down the middle into the back of the net. Roefs did manage to get a hand to it, and was a little unfortunate not to make the save. Sunderland responded well and went very close just before the break after a nice move, Le Fee finding Talbi on the left who in turn released Reinildo on the overlap. The left back drove towards goal and his effort was a good one, Samba making an excellent save with his boot. Sunderland had not played poorly, but on balance of chances the visitors deserved their narrow lead at the break. 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. The interval served Sunderland well, and though it took them a little while to really gain the ascendancy in the second half they were almost entirely dominant once they did. The Black Cats threatened from a succession of set pieces, with Reinildo denied very well when heading a corner towards goal. The equaliser on the hour mark thanks to some excellent persistence from Brobbey, alert to an attempted headed backpass that was well short of the goalkeeper. Though Brobbey’s initial effort was saved well, he kept going and was rewarded with a tap in from just a couple of yards. Le Bris made his planned triple substitution and that ushered in a period of complete control for Sunderland. Their pressing game was working much better than in the first half, allowing them to consistently win the ball back in advanced areas and get Le Fee into good positions as a result. Though Le Fee couldn’t quite get a shot away when winning the back deep in the Stade Rennais half, Brobbey won a foul from the loose ball and allowed his team mate to put in an excellent ball. Diarra kept it alive and from there Hume had a relatively simple first-time finish into the bottom corner. In the moments that followed Sunderland could have scored more, substitute Isidor firing over from le Fee’s cross from close range before Samba made a brilliant save to turn away Reinildo’s header at the back post. For the second time in as many games, Sunderland’s substitutions had given them a real injection of quality with Rigg once again influential. Sunderland continued to look the more likely as the final whistle approached, with Mundle cracking one free kick off the crossbar. Though it had taken the Black Cats a while to get going, by the final whistle their win was deserved and the scoreline slightly flattering on a Stade Rennais side who hadn’t been able to cope with their opposition in the second half.