David Moyes praised his players for their battling performance as the 2016-17 Premier League season opened with an unlucky defeat at Manchester City.
Sunderland held their nerve following Sergio Aguero's early penalty, limiting a star-studded City side to few chances.
Jermain Defoe's crisp finish 20 minutes from the end raised hopes of a point, but a last-gasp own goal from the unlucky Paddy McNair saw City finish winners.
But Moyes was quick to highlight the positives post-match.
“We can take positives from the performance because we did an awful lot of good things today,” he said.
“We're disappointed we didn't take a point, which everyone would have said would have been a really good result.
“The players did great. We gave a couple of lads their debut today and they did a great job.”
He added: “Defensively we played well throughout the game – just the second goal disappointed me. There were a couple of actions that we'll work on and improve on.
“It was great there were so many supporters here and I think they could see the players were at it.”
Sunderland now face near neighbours Middlesbrough on Wearside next, and Moyes has challenged his players to maintain the work rate shown at the Etihad Stadium.
“I've said to the players that they have to play like that in every game.
“They've set the standard for effort and commitment and they'll be getting it from me if they drop below that.”
