Sunderland reach Carabao Cup quarter-finals after beating Brentford

Chemsdine Talbi, Timur Tutierov and Malick Fofana scored for Régis Le Bris’ side, while Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago replied for Brentford. The home side’s three goals came in a 13-minute burst that turned the tie around after the visitors had threatened early on.

Le Bris was pleased with the result and the energy his players showed.

“It’s really positive. We are on this demanding journey and it’s a new challenge for the club, for the players, and I think the energy is getting better,” the Sunderland manager said.

“We know that we have good players, but this journey is really challenging, so they have to embrace the challenge, and they showed this evening that they are ready for that.”

Brentford had opportunities before Sunderland took control, but Talbi opened the scoring in the 26th minute after Jocelin Ta Bi’s effort was only partially saved. Tutierov made it 2-0 three minutes later, converting after Ta Bi created the chance, before Fofana headed home the third in the 39th minute.

Wilson pulled one back before half-time, and Thiago scored deep into stoppage time, but Sunderland held on to secure their place in the last eight.

Sunderland’s manager also stressed the value of progressing in the competition, even with other priorities demanding attention during the season.

“I think winning is important. It feeds the feeling of the dynamic and it helps for everything,” Le Bris said.

“When you win, I think you’ve got better energy to recover properly and it feeds the good vibes.”

The result offered encouragement after Le Bris made wholesale changes to his starting line-up. Ta Bi’s contribution was particularly important, with the winger involved in all three Sunderland goals as the hosts punished Brentford’s defensive lapses.

Keith Andrews was left frustrated by his team’s exit, despite seeing positive elements in their performance. The Brentford head coach insisted the competition had been taken seriously and said his side had created enough chances to get more from the match.

“We wanted to progress in this competition,” Andrews said. “We’ve taken it very, very seriously in the way we’ve approached it.”

“If we break down the performance, there’s a lot of good to take from it. We created multiple opportunities and should have scored more than we actually have.”

The Brentford manager identified the spell in which Sunderland scored three times as the decisive factor.

“But the reality is we had a period in the game when we conceded three goals, which has cost us,” Andrews said. “Poor defending, poor mistakes and judgement. We need to learn from it.”

Brentford’s late goals made the finish uncomfortable for Sunderland, but they could not find an equaliser. For Le Bris, the win brought both progress in the cup and a boost in confidence; for Andrews, the challenge is to turn the positives he identified into a more complete performance in the next match.