A night to remember as The Black Cats get off to a good start.
Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar
New Shores Conquered
After 53 years of waiting, Sunderland returned to European football with a victory. Enzo Le Fée’s 66th-minute penalty proved sufficient to defeat AZ Alkmaar and give Régis Le Bris’s side a winning start to their UEFA Europa League campaign.
The scoreline suggested a close contest, and the closing stages were certainly tense, but Sunderland should have made the evening considerably more comfortable. They created enough opportunities to win by a much wider margin and were repeatedly frustrated by their own finishing, the work of AZ goalkeeper Jari De Busser and, on one occasion, the frame of the goal.
None of that could diminish the importance of the occasion. The Stadium of Light had staged many memorable nights, but this was something different: the beginning of a European campaign that few could have foreseen during Sunderland’s recent years in League One and the Championship.
A crowd of 45,555 gathered to witness the club’s return to continental competition. Before kick-off, fireworks filled the Wearside sky and a giant sailing ship appeared above the crowd, accompanied by the message: “New shores to conquer.” It provided a suitably dramatic opening to Sunderland’s first European fixture since their Cup Winners’ Cup tie against Sporting Lisbon in November 1973.
Among those watching from the stands was Jimmy Montgomery, now 82, Sunderland’s goalkeeper during that previous European adventure and the hero of the club’s famous FA Cup final victory over Leeds United earlier in 1973. His presence provided a tangible link between the two eras.
The circumstances surrounding Sunderland’s return could hardly have been more demanding. The match came four days after a Premier League defeat at home to Arsenal and immediately before a difficult visit to Manchester City. With that schedule in mind, Le Bris made several changes and initially left Brian Brobbey, Dan Ballard and Thomas Meunier on the substitutes’ bench.
Malick Fofana, signed from Lyon for £30 million on transfer deadline day, was handed his first Sunderland start. Wilson Isidor led the attack, with Le Fée and Fofana operating behind him. Captain Granit Xhaka partnered Noah Sadiki in midfield, while Robin Roefs started in goal behind a defence of Trai Hume, Kevin Danso, Omar Alderete, Reinildo Mandava and Nordi Mukiele.
Although this was Sunderland’s first match in the UEFA Europa League, the team was not entering the competition without relevant experience. The starting eleven had accumulated 131 previous Europa League appearances between them—the highest combined total ever fielded by a club in its first match in the competition. Sunderland were newcomers collectively, but several members of Le Bris’s side were already familiar with European football.
AZ represented a significant opening test. Leeroy Echteld’s team arrived unbeaten in the Eredivisie, having won five and drawn one of their first six league matches. Technically accomplished and comfortable in possession, the Dutch side had no intention of playing a passive role in Sunderland’s celebration.
The visitors demonstrated their threat almost immediately. Ro-Zangelo Daal found space inside the home penalty area and sent a low shot towards goal. Roefs reacted sharply, extending a foot to make an important early save. Had AZ taken the lead, the mood inside the stadium might have changed considerably.
Instead, the chance served to sharpen Sunderland’s concentration. Le Fée began to exert an increasing influence, finding pockets of space and linking midfield with attack. A well-struck half-volley forced De Busser into his first meaningful save, and the goalkeeper’s intervention presented Sunderland with another opening when Le Fée returned the ball towards Isidor. The centre-forward could not quite make the required contact.
Kevin Danso was next to threaten. Advancing confidently from defence, he struck a powerful effort that De Busser was forced to push over the crossbar.
Sunderland were beginning to take control, although their attacking ambition occasionally provided AZ with opportunities on the counterattack. Ayoub Oufkir appeared ready to exploit one such opening before Hume recovered to make an excellent interception.
Oufkir and the highly regarded Kees Smit offered regular reminders of AZ’s technical quality. Smit, in particular, displayed the close control and awareness that had already attracted attention from some of Europe’s leading clubs. Nevertheless, Sunderland increasingly dictated the contest through Xhaka and Sadiki.
Xhaka brought composure and authority to the midfield, selecting his passes carefully and helping Sunderland maintain pressure. Sadiki supplied energy alongside him, while Le Fée became the outstanding individual on the pitch.
A flowing Sunderland move created a glorious opportunity for Isidor, but once again the finish was missing. Le Fée then came even closer, striking the post with De Busser beaten. When Hume advanced from the right and drove another effort narrowly wide, it seemed only a matter of time before the home side would score.
Hume’s presence on such a stage was itself illustrative of Sunderland’s extraordinary recent progress. When he joined the club in January 2022, Sunderland were still in League One. Less than five years later, he was representing them in the Europa League and proving entirely at home in continental competition.
By the interval, Sunderland had established clear superiority but had failed to convert it into a lead. Their movement, intensity and passing had repeatedly unsettled AZ, yet a succession of promising attacks had ended without reward.
There was also frustration when Oufkir received only a yellow card following a reckless sliding challenge on Le Fée. Echteld evidently recognised the danger of leaving the winger on the field and replaced him with Weslley Patati at half-time.
AZ began the second period with renewed purpose. Smit produced the clearest demonstration of his ability when he manoeuvred his way through the Sunderland defence and curled a shot fractionally wide. Roefs had been left stranded and could only watch as the ball passed the upright.
With Alderete already booked and the visitors beginning to find more space, Le Bris strengthened his defence by introducing Ballard in the 52nd minute. The substitute immediately brought his customary determination and physical presence to the back line.
Sunderland soon reasserted themselves. Le Fée opened the AZ defence with an outstanding pass to Isidor, but the striker was again unable to apply the finishing touch. Hume then failed to convert another presentable opportunity. After so many chances, an uncomfortable suspicion began to spread around the Stadium of Light that Sunderland might be punished for their wastefulness.
The decisive moment finally arrived in the 66th minute.
Le Fée received the ball inside the AZ penalty area and shaped to shoot. Patati committed himself to the challenge, caught the Sunderland midfielder and left the referee with little alternative but to award a penalty.
Only four days earlier, Le Fée had seen a spot kick saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. That recent disappointment inevitably added to the tension as he placed the ball and prepared to face De Busser.
This time there was no mistake. Le Fée waited for the goalkeeper to commit himself before sending the ball low into the opposite corner. De Busser went the wrong way and the Stadium of Light erupted.
It was a fitting reward for Sunderland’s best player. Le Fée had driven the home side forward, tested the goalkeeper, struck the post, created opportunities for his teammates and finally won and converted the penalty that separated the teams.
Le Bris made a triple substitution almost immediately. Meunier, Brobbey and Nilson Angulo replaced Hume, Fofana and Isidor in the 67th minute. Sunderland briefly pursued a second goal, and Mukiele went close when he met Xhaka’s corner with a header.
A second would have removed much of the tension, but it never arrived. AZ remained within a single goal and gradually forced Sunderland into a more defensive approach.
With Smit withdrawn, Daal became the visitors’ principal attacking threat. His close control and willingness to carry the ball towards Sunderland’s defence ensured that the home side could not relax. As the match entered its final stages, Le Bris’s players began to sit deeper and concentrate on protecting what they had.
Chris Rigg replaced Danso in the 84th minute as Sunderland attempted to close the game out. AZ pushed forward and the mood inside the stadium became increasingly anxious. Every loose ball and visiting attack carried the possibility that Sunderland’s failure to score a second goal might yet prove costly.
Ballard helped to organise the defence, Mukiele and Reinildo remained disciplined, and Roefs maintained his concentration behind them. Sunderland’s shape held firm and the Dutch side were unable to find an equaliser.
The final whistle brought an outpouring of celebration and relief. Sunderland had won their first European match for 53 years and opened their Europa League campaign with three valuable points.
The narrow scoreline did not fully reflect the balance of the contest. Sunderland had produced more than enough opportunities to secure a comfortable victory. Their football was frequently incisive and their midfield largely controlled the game, but a lack of ruthlessness kept AZ alive until the final whistle.
Le Bris would know that stronger opponents might punish such wastefulness. Sunderland’s forthcoming European fixtures would present different challenges, and their finishing would need to improve if they were to make a sustained impact on the competition.
There was, however, much to admire. Roefs made important saves at the beginning and towards the end of the evening. Hume delivered another energetic and committed performance. Xhaka controlled long periods from midfield, while Sadiki’s work alongside him provided balance. Ballard contributed calm and authority after his introduction.
Above all, there was Le Fée. The Frenchman’s intelligence, technique and constant movement made him the game’s outstanding player. His winning penalty also represented immediate redemption following his miss against Arsenal.
Before the match, Xhaka had suggested that Sunderland should not be afraid to dream of reaching the Europa League final in Frankfurt. One home victory did not make that ambition any less formidable, and the captain would understand better than most how difficult the journey could become. Yet Sunderland had earned the right to approach Europe with confidence.
This was a club that had travelled from League One to the Premier League and then into continental competition in little more than four years. Its starting eleven might have possessed 131 previous Europa League appearances, but for Sunderland itself everything about the evening felt new.
The fireworks, the vast crowd, the presence of Montgomery and the sailing ship above the stands combined to make the occasion unforgettable. More importantly, the team supplied the result that the spectacle demanded.
The message before kick-off had spoken of new shores to conquer. By the end of the night, Sunderland had conquered the first.
Quote Of The Night:
AZ Alkmaar manager Lee-Roy Echteld tells us that the Sunderland atmosphere was, ‘fantastic’ at the Stadium of Light tonight: “Fantastic. If you look at this stadium and the fans – how they cheer the team is beautiful. It’s a good experience for us to play in these circumstances.”
