Simon Mignolet was floating after helping Sunderland to their shock 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Mignolet was forced to wear protective headgear as he made his first start for Sunderland since late October during the 1-0 victory over Manchester City at the Stadium of Light.

"If you can come in off the sidelines and keep a clean sheet against a team like Manchester City you're a happy goalkeeper," Mignolet told safc.com.

"I've been training for a week with the mask, but I got the go ahead to start a couple of weeks ago.

"I've been happy with it; I can't feel it when I'm playing and after 10 minutes I forget it's even there.

"It's always awkward to come back into the team after a couple of weeks out, you need your confidence lifted and you need the other players to support you.

"The players worked hard for each other today. Everybody deserves a pat on the back - we worked hard and it paid off."