The Black Cats slipped to the bottom of the Premier League table following the defeat.
Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke celebrates scoring their third goal as Sunderland’s Jan Kirchhoff looks dejected
Jan Kirchhoff has suggested that David Moyes was right to point the finger at Sunderland’s players following their dramatic loss to Crystal Palace at the weekend, the Daily Mirror reports.
The Black Cats appeared to be on the verge of securing their first league win of the season when Jermain Defoe scored twice to put them 2-0 ahead after an hour at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland manager David Moyes
However, a quick reply from Joe Ledley – who had been responsible for the Sunderland opener after a horrendous pass found its way to Defoe – and subsequent a goal from James McArthur as well as a stoppage-time header from Christian Benteke ensured that Alan Pardew’s men bagged all three points.
After the game, Moyes claimed that the squad must take most of the responsibility (via Daily Mirror), and Kirchhoff – who was marking Benteke in the build-up to the winner – has agreed with his manager.
Crystal Palace’s James McArthur celebrates scoring their second goal with Connor Wickham and Joe Ledley as Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole looks dejected
“It is 100 per cent fair to say that we have to take responsibility,” he said, as reported by the Mirror.
“We get prepared well before the game and we know what to do. We know how to defend and what to do.
“But we didn’t do it properly.
“We really have to stay together and communicate better to get one clear idea about how we want to play a football game.”
Kirchhoff in action against Tottenham
There have been several occasions when the side have cost themselves valuable points already this term. As well as a handful of late goals, the team have committed costly mistakes on occasion, and of course, against Everton, they were left stunned as three goals in 11 minutes saw them fall to a heavy defeat.
While Moyes cannot necessarily be held responsible for those moments, his comments could potentially create a division between himself and the squad which could be extremely harmful to their hopes of pulling themselves out of trouble.
But Kirchhoff’s response may help galvanise the team as they look to prove to their manager that they are capable of putting their recent disappointment behind them.
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