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Dick Advocaat says Sunderland started positively despite Man City defeat

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Dick Advocaat said his side 'gave away' goals against Man City

Dick Advocaat thought his Sunderland side played ‘positively’ in the first 25 minutes of the Capital One Cup defeat against Man City despite conceding four goals.

The bottom side in the Premier League lost the game 4-1 after conceding all of their goals in the opening 36 minutes meaning they have now shipped 17 first half goals in eight matches this campaign.

Advocaat was dismayed by the result against the league leaders, but was buoyed by elements of the performance, even in the opening period of the game.

He said: "Maybe you think I am negative, but I am not. Yes, negative that we lost 4-1, but the way we played in the first 25 minutes, it was very positive.

"I was not really happy with the way that we again gave the goals away, and it's not the first time, but there's no sense in calling names because everybody could see the mistakes, simple mistakes and it's not possible [to make those mistakes] at this level, especially not against a team like that.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bryyne celebrates his goal during the Capital One Cup, third round match at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland.
Image: Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates his goal during the Capital One Cup match

"But before that, when they scored, 1-0, we had a good chance to score, 1-1. At the moment, everything is not rolling in our way. But at a certain moment, that will change."

Ola Toivonen pulled one back for Sunderland late on in the second but it was far too little, too late for Advocaat's beleaguered side.

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However, the manager is remaining positive and praised his team's second-half showing. 

He said: "I said at half-time to the players, 'Now you have to show commitment for the team, but also as an individual because if you go on the same as we did in the last 15 minutes, then they will score four goals more'.

"But I was very pleased with what I saw in the second half. They worked very hard. You could see from the fans - they stayed until the end. But the quality from the other side was too much."

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