Football
PA Sport 7y

Sunderland manager David Moyes: I deserved to be sent off vs. Saints

David Moyes admitted he deserved to be sent to the stands after Sunderland tumbled out of the EFL Cup at Southampton.

The Black Cats boss was furious after his struggling side were denied a late penalty when Maya Yoshida brought down Victor Anichebe in the area.

But the Scot's industrial language towards fourth official James Adcock earned him his marching orders as Sunderland crashed out to Sofiane Boufal's strike.

"I was sent off for leaving my box and swearing at the fourth official,'' Moyes said.

"The problem was he chased me down the touchline. I swore at him and I shouldn't have done so I deserved to be sent off.''

Moyes was in no doubt about the late penalty claim which angered him so much but was waved away by ref Chris Kavanagh.

"When you see it again it's a stonewaller, no question,'' he added. "Inside the box Yoshida fouls Victor, he comes across him, and it should have been a definite penalty awarded.''

Sunderland's only two wins this season came in this competition and they remain bottom of the Premier League, but Moyes is confident they are close to turning the corner.

"We didn't deserve to lose, that's for sure,'' he said.

"Our luck's out, but it will change. The performances are getting better and that will lead to goals and to results. Our last couple of performances have merited more.''

It was Boufal's night, though, as the club record signing marked his St Mary's debut with a fabulous strike.

In the 66th minute of what had until then been a dull encounter, the 23-year-old controlled an up-and-under superbly, stepped around Billy Jones and curled an unstoppable shot over the diving Jordan Pickford and inside the far post.

"You can see his qualities,'' beamed Saints manager Claude Puel. "You can see he is a fantastic player.

"It was difficult for us against a strong team. I enjoyed the result, of course, for all my players, the experienced and the young ones.''

Puel fielded six academy graduates in a much-changed lineup, and their reward is a quarterfinal trip to meet Arsenal and his fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger.

"I would prefer of course to be at home,'' he admitted.

"But Arsene might play his young players again so it will be a good experience to see what we can do.''

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