Xhaka admits Sunderland errors in heavy loss to Forest

Xhaka admits Sunderland errors in heavy loss to Forest

Granit Xhaka admitted Sunderland were punished for their mistakes as Nottingham Forest secured a crushing 5-0 victory.

It was the Black Cats’ heaviest-ever home defeat on Wearside. After Trai Hume’s own goal, the visitors scored three times in the first six minutes to take control.

Dan Ballard’s second-half effort was ruled out by VAR for a foul by Nordi Mukiele, before Forest added late goals to seal the emphatic win.

“It’s very hard to take, of course,” Xhaka told the club website.

“At this level, if you make mistakes, you get punished, and today we were punished in the worst way. We have to be honest with ourselves about that.

“We didn’t manage the big moments well enough.

"When you give a team confidence, especially in this league, they will hurt you.

"Five goals is not acceptable for us, and we have to take responsibility as players," he continued.

“The season is a marathon, not a sprint.

"Of course, we’ve had a very good season so far, but we always knew it would be a journey.

"There will be ups and downs, no doubt, but it’s about how we react now.”