Andy Thompson says…
Enzo Le Fée steps up
It takes a lot of balls to stand up and take a penalty after you’ve missed one the game before, and I thought Le Fée was excellent and busy all game, with his pressing and intricate passing.
Glad he got the opportunity to step up and get a goal to cap a great performance.
The fans bring the noise
For all the shit we’ve taken over the past decade, this result and occasion was for the fans — and my, did they show up.
Watching the game on tv and it brought a tear to my eye at the beginning watching the tifo and the crowd bellow
“Wise Men Say”.
My only regret is that I wasn’t there, but the fans stayed ‘til the end and backed the team throughout.
Lessons to learn in the opposition penalty area
This one is simple: need to learn the lesson of taking opportunities when we are on top.
We’ve played well the past few games but the only thing missing is that we just need to score when we are on top.
We created chances aplenty but the goal from open play eluded us.
AZ play their part
Fair play to AZ.
I thought they looked very good at times but for me they broke our lines and were able to get us far too often.
David Elliott says…
Another cracking pre-match display
The tifo was amazing and the noise generated by the crowd was deafening.
I’ve seen a few photos of the fireworks, too — the whole staging made you so proud to be red and white.
Stand up, Enzo Le Fée
He certainly has some bottle and deserved a goal for his performance.
His work rate is amazing and he rarely misplaces a pass. So pleased for him, and how the crowd responded to him.
More wobbles in front of goal
It’s becoming a bit of a broken record, but our finishing is concerning.
Confidence is pretty low and we really could do with a few goals from open play.
The curious case of Omar Alderete
I’m a bit worried about Alderete just now.
He doesn’t seem 100%; off the pace and not fully attuned to the rest of the team.
Maybe he just needs more recovery time after the World Cup.
John Wade says…
Enzo’s revenge on a historic night for Sunderland!
After missing the penalty at the weekend, Enzo Le Fée gained redemption with exactly the same penalty but a different result — the dichotomy of the ‘outcome bias! in full flow.
He was also unlucky not to get another, hitting the post yet again.
I can’t really ask for more, and I’m absolutely chuffed for you, me and everyone else.
The players did us proud with resilience and commitment in full flow. I’ve waited all my life for this and I was so nervous, excited and hyper before the match that I didn’t know what to do with myself.
What a time to be alive.
Robin Roefs, take a bow
He kept a clean sheet when lesser mortals may have crumbled.
Although we were the better side, we needed Roefs to be on top form.
AZ’s midfield poses some questions
The space afforded to their midfield players at times was frightening.
We deserved to win the game but we gave some chances away. There was a period during the second half where we couldn’t get near them and never seemed to be close when they played it through the middle.
That has to improve.
Poor finishing almost costs Sunderland
How we didn’t score more goals, I’ll never know.
Our finishing is poor and our confidence in front of goal is low.
I remember seeing an interview with Ian Wright when I was a young striker and he said the secret to his goalscoring record was hitting the ball towards goal early. Brian Brobbey needs to watch that video and commit it to memory. I love him but he’s not an instinctive finisher by any means.
Even when he did get through on goal, he chose to pass instead and still didn’t find either of the players free in the box. Nilson Angulo should’ve scored too.
John Wilson says…
Oh what a night!
The stage was set.
The tifo. The flags. The fireworks. Tears in eyes. Straining voices. History in the making. It was all so very special.
AZ tried their best to spoil things and quieten the crowd early on, but they couldn’t put out our fire. What a moment to be alive and supporting this club.
‘Enzo Le Spiderman’
Our first Europa League goal came courtesy of our own wizard Enzo Le Fée.
What a brave lad to take the penalty and set the place up another notch. So pleased for him. Such a hard worker, as well as his trickery and skills.
Some nervy moments in defence
AZ did cut us open several times. Their finishing was at times snatched and hurried, but on another day they could’ve had three or four goals.
My heart was in my mouth on a few occasions, but we rode our luck and survived to make it a wonderful evening.
Composure…a valuable quality
A trite complaint maybe, but we also had our chances to put the game to bed and no more so than at the end, when we had two or three shots blocked.
It could’ve been less stressful, but what a night! Memorable.
Jon Guy says…
A victory and a dominant performance in Europe
After fifty three years, it was a really good performance against a team that’s been playing in European competition for fifteen years.
Let’s not forget that this is a team second in the Dutch league on goal difference, scoring an average of three goals a game this season and that thumped PSV in their version of the Charity Shield.
We took the game to AZ and if we’d scored four or five, they couldn’t have been any complaints. A deserved win.
What an atmosphere!
The fans were fantastic and the noise was constant.
We had a tricky start to both halves but the noise was constant and while there were a few tense moments at the end the crowd really played their part.
We’d waited long enough and didn’t let the team down.
A slow start to both halves
We didn’t get out of the blocks well enough and AZ could and should’ve score twice during those periods.
It might’ve been nerves from the start but in the second half we lost the momentum from the end of the first half.
The importance of early sharpness
Another game where we might’ve regretted a string of missed chances and we need to take our chances against better opposition, both in Europe and the league.
We simply need to be clinical and maybe the arrival of our new teenage striker may add something in front of goal.
Malc Dugdale says…
A special Wearside evening
The buildup was outstanding and the occasion was created impeccably by the club.
Well done to all involved and though I couldn’t be there, I was immensely proud to see my hometown club deliver that. Top drawer.
A great first half
Though AZ did have a good first ten, we dominated the rest of the first half and we were disappointed to go for oranges without a lead.
They had chances too and Robin Roefs and the defenders did us proud to prevent going behind when we didn’t deserve to.
Enzo Le Fée makes the difference
Chuffed for our wee Spider-Man that he banished the demons from Saturday and converted the penalty he deserved to.
The French genius tucked his shot into the same corner as against Arsenal and we got the win.
Fantastic resilience from our little magician — my man of the match.
Three crucial points
A win in Europe at the first time of asking for over half a century, and a proud town and thousands of exiles across the UK wondering how they’ll sober up by the morning to go to work with people who have no idea what this means to us all.
But I don’t give a shit. This is our moment and we deserve to revel in it.
Work 0, Sunderland 1 for me — as it’ll be all across the North East today!
Tom Albrighton says…
What an atmosphere!
Tears and excitement…that was as good as the Stadium of Light has maybe ever been.
The noise would have woken the dead and these are the core memories we’ll keep with us forever. Truly spectacular.
The victory itself
That was probably a harder game than we gave it credit for and there’ll no doubt have been a metric tonne of pressure on those lads.
The effort was again 10/10 and the Lads ground out what will ultimately be seen as not only a good result but a landmark result too.
All credit to AZ — they made us work for that.
A dilemma on the right wing
How do you solve a problem like Sunderland’s right wing?
Less for us to ponder and more to get to January for Florent Ghisolfi to work some of his magic.
Score early and ease the pressure later on?
We all remember the Guinness advert about patience and again, we needed it in good quantities.
The lack of goals isn’t through lack of effort or lack of creating chances, and I can’t help but think that if we could score goals earlier in games, we would be a totally different and far more dangerous animal.
Will Patterson says…
Granit Xhaka leads from the front
Amid a sea of delirium and occasion, you need a leader to gather heads together, and Xhaka was exactly that.
It might sound like a cop out to mention the skipper, but his ability to release pressure from the rest of the players around him is incredible.
His choice of pass and speed of decision were at their best and were genuinely a pleasure to watch.
Plenty of chances created by Sunderland
Since we’ve been promoted, this was one of the best games I’ve seen in terms of chance creation.
Really, this shouldn’t have been a 1-0 as we were far better value, and that’s a massive positive.
A lack of creativity from out wide
On an amazing night for the club, one of my main takeaways was feeling sorry for Malick Fofana.
As his time on the pitch went on, he moved further in from the touchline and deeper towards the defence to get a sight of the ball.
On the right hand side, there were several opportunities where a more creative player than Trai Hume would’ve produced chances.
We created so much but I feel we aren’t getting the best from our wide areas.
Some sub-par finishing
Let’s go back to the Premier League — we’re not a side that creates a lot of chances.
Wilson Isidor looked really sharp and Brian Brobbey was a presence as per usual, but we need to put those chances away and the game shouldn’t have finished 1-0.
