Brobbey's hat-trick not enough as Sunderland fall at Manchester City

Brobbey's treble in vain at the Etihad

For an initial €20m (£17.2m) outlay to Ajax last summer, Brian Brobbey appears a bargain at No 9, as the 24-year-old's hat-trick in Sunderland's 5-3 loss at Manchester City underlined.

These were the Dutchman's first goals — all poacher's finishes — in the sixth game of the season, but Régis Le Bris had been unconcerned.

"It's really positive for a striker [to score three] — when you don't score it's still possible to tell the story differently [that he is failing] but for us it is really clear that he is a good striker and he's getting better game after game. It's just a question of time," said the manager, who believes his striker is improving.

Brobbey was left disappointed despite his hat-trick. "It's hard being on the losing side when you're scoring three goals," he said.