Sunderland slipped to a frustrating defeat at Craven Cottage after a late strike from Raul Jimenez sealed the points for Fulham.

Trai Hume voiced his annoyance at the free kick that led to the decisive goal but admitted Sunderland could have few arguments about the overall outcome.

The controversy came when the referee awarded Fulham a foul deep in Sunderland’s half, a decision that angered the visiting players. Fulham restarted quickly, with Samuel Chukwueze delivering a sharp cross that Jimenez converted. Sunderland were unable to respond in the final moments.

Hume said the squad felt let down by several refereeing decisions, yet he stressed that the performance itself was not good enough. With Bournemouth set to visit the Stadium of Light next weekend, the defender expects an immediate reaction.

“I think we all know we can be better across the full 90 minutes,” Hume said. “They created a lot of chances, far more than we normally allow. It’s disappointing to concede the way we did. Personally, I don’t think the free kick was a foul, and it threw us off. They took it quickly, it was a great ball and the striker got on the end of it.

“We’re frustrated, but if we’re honest, they had plenty of opportunities and when you concede that many, you’re likely to get punished. I thought the decisions were soft all game, but that’s not an excuse. We know we can be better, and you can’t give up that many chances in the Premier League. We’ll watch it back, work hard, and get ready for next week.”

Hume added that the squad left London feeling “angry and disappointed” to come away with nothing, especially after conceding so late. “It feels like we handed it to them. It was just one of those days.”

Régis Le Bris offered a blunt assessment of his team’s display, saying Sunderland failed to win enough individual battles to earn control of the match.

“It’s a good reminder about the basics,” he said. “If you don’t win your duels and you don’t win second balls, you can’t impose anything. We struggled to create, and we struggled when they went long. Our press wasn’t efficient and we didn’t handle the duels well enough, so we ended up defending around our box too often.

“The basics matter. If you don’t at least break even in those areas, the opponent will make the most of their strengths. It’s a lesson we have to take on board. We need to be at our best.”