We succumbed to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light in a game ultimately decided by one first-half refereeing decision, which saw the home side awarded a first-half penalty that Enzo Le Fee converted. 

The Blues pushed hard for an equaliser to salvage a point in the second period, especially during the closing stages, when substitutes Geovany Quenda and Danny Welbeck both went close.

However, Alonso was in no mood to make excuses after the final whistle, admitting his side hadn’t performed at the level he expects, particularly when it came to our attempts to break down the stubborn Sunderland defence after falling behind.

‘I would say there were situations that we could have defended better, situations that we could have got better advantages in attack, but the game was really even, really competitive,’ said our manager.

‘They were waiting for the chance – and they got it. After they took the lead, we were trying, but we were not producing much. The first goal is always important and today, when we were behind, we didn't produce enough.

‘It wasn't the best game. I think that we didn't deserve more than probably one point. The game was really close.

‘Not much happened, to be honest, just that action [for the Sunderland penalty]. We had the cross in the first half, the header from Morgan (Rogers), but we didn't produce enough to deserve to win.

‘We were against a low block. We missed a bit of patience and a bit of quality, creativity in the last third to create more chances. You need to be more consistent to move the ball from one side to the other, and we didn't do good enough.’

Alonso conceded that the absences of unavailable players could have influenced our performance, as Josh Acheampong was ruled out with a small issue on Saturday and the game was too soon for Emiliano Martinez to make his return.

Jorrel Hato, Jamie Gittens, Reece James, Maxence Lacroix and Joao Pedro also remain out. The Blues will now go into the international break hoping to get at least some of those players back for our next game against Leeds United on 21 November, even if Alonso made clear he expects better from the Blues, whoever is in the team.

‘There are situations,' he acknowledged. 'Yesterday Josh felt something and he was not fit to play. So we are shorter in options and we need to go through this time.

‘Even when we win, or when we lose, we miss some players that we have injured and for sure we are waiting to have them back because they are important. Now we need to use the time to recover them, but with the players we have, we have to get ready for the next one.’