Sunderland were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Sunderland defender Lamine Kone has told the Chronicle that a lack of concentration is the root of their problems this season.
The Black Cats have suffered a disastrous start to the season under new manager David Moyes, picking up just one point from their first six games of the season and currently sit in the bottom three as a consequence.
Their poor form continued at the weekend as they were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light.
It was a highly disappointing defeat for the home side, especially given they had led the game 2-0 at one stage.
“The problem? Maybe it is down to concentration,” Kone told the Chronicle.
“What happened, it is not normal. We made it difficult for ourselves [by conceding within a minute of going 2-0 in front]. We have to now quickly look to win the next game against West Brom this weekend.”
While Kone believes that concentration is the root of Sunderland’s problems, it is clear that defensively is where their problems really lie.
So far this season they have conceded 9.8 chances per game in the box to their opponents, the fourth highest in the division.
The Black Cats also average nine chances per game from outside the box, which is the second highest in the division.
That means on average they have 18 chances per game in their matches so far, which is the second highest behind Hull City and shows exactly where Sunderland must look to improve moving forward.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
