Regis Le Bris broke down his thoughts on a 3-0 defeat for **Sunderland**against Man City.
The Black Cats have put in some massive shifts over the last week. They overturned a two goal deficit against **Bournemouth**to take all three points at the Stadium of Light, where they are still undefeated in their first season back in the topflight since 2017. The side then earned a 1-1 draw away at **Anfield**against reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, coming close to a winner during injury time.
So, it is not a shock that they could not raise the levels to the same standard in this showdown at the Etihad Stadium. Ruben Dias drove home a brilliant strike from distance before Josko Gvardiol gave the Citizens some breathing room. Phil Foden completed the scoring, and Luke O’Nien, club captain for Sunderland, compounded the suffering as he picked up a red card in the second half.
*"It's tough to repeat performances at this level. After Bournemouth and Liverpool, we are a bit tired. Man City's quality is relentless so, if you're not at your best, it's difficult to manage their threat.*
"They deserved to win. They have built this team over many seasons, but for us it is still the beginning of the journey. This defeat is fair. We have to learn from negative experiences and this one was difficult. We are still feeling really positive.
“[Having four midfielders at risk of a suspension] was part of the problem. We played with two midfielders at 60% to 70% intensity which was not useful, but after a week like this it was important to have in mind that we have an important derby at home next week.
“It's a shame to receive a red card at the end of the game, but if the referee thought it was red card then that's fine. When you're not at your best, you have to accept this."