Nordi Mukiele admitted frustration after missing a key chance and expressed disappointment as Sunderland exited the Carabao Cup on penalties to Huddersfield Town
Nordi Mukiele admitted his frustration after Sunderland’s Carabao Cup exit to Huddersfield Town, revealing his anger at missing a golden chance to score and his disappointment that the Black Cats couldn’t secure victory at the Stadium of Light.
A crowd of 22,249 watched on as Sunderland were beaten 6-5 on penalties following a dramatic second-round clash. Marc Guiu’s first goal for the club cancelled out Leo Castledine’s opener, but Milan Aleksic’s decisive miss saw the Black Cats bow out of the competition.
Mukiele, making his full debut after his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, played 90 minutes at centre-back and went close to his first Sunderland goal from a second-half corner. “Yes, it’s a good chance,” Mukiele admitted. “I’m very angry about myself because I should have scored this one. I’m still confident because I know the next one I’m going to score.”
Despite the frustration, the 27-year-old insisted Sunderland’s performance deserved more: “We conceded only one chance and they scored and after, in the second half, we did really good. The second half and the first half were in the same game, and I think we deserved to win this game.
Mukiele said the focus now has to switch quickly to the Premier League: We deserved to score more than one goal, but football is like this, and the only thing we can say is congrats to Huddersfield because they did what they had to do, and now they go to the next round. We have to stay calm, and we have an important game this weekend. We have to be focused on this game and put this one behind us.”
Reflecting on completing 90 minutes for the first time in months, Mukiele added: “First of all, I’m really happy to be back on the pitch. It’s been a long time since I last played, and I think I did a good thing. I also have to do more, better things than today, but I’m looking forward and I’m really excited for the next weekend and the next game and the next game also.”
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On his move to Sunderland, Mukiele explained: “It all seemed to happen very quickly. I think I've learned a lot of things in football since I started my career. This challenge is very exciting and I also want to bring my experience I had before in my previous team. I think it’s something really exciting and also for the fans and the story of this club.
The former PSG and Bayer Leverkusen man continued: “For me, it’s something special. Maybe other people will not understand, but I understand this, and I don’t regret this choice, and I will give everything for this club to put them where they deserve to be.”
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