Sunderland secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Portuguese second-tier side Torreense on Wednesday, with Noah Sadiki netting a stoppage-time winner to maintain their perfect start in the Uefa Europa League. The victory, achieved at the Leiria stadium, marked Sunderland’s first competitive continental fixture in 53 years, dating back to their time as second-division FA Cup holders in 1973. Three minutes into stoppage time Noah Sadiki hurdled a set of advertising hoardings sprinted across a running track and hurled himself at the jubilant Sunderland fans. It meant Sunderland had come from behind to secure a second straight Europa League win and their relief was evident as every outfield player followed Sadiki in vaulting those hoardings to join the celebrations. Having provoked widespread shock by beating Sporting to win the Portuguese Cup last spring Luís Tralhão’s second tier side relish their underdog status. After winning at Lillestrøm last month, Torreense aim to keep the surprises coming and duly left a heavily rotated Sunderland trailing at the break. Torreense, 15th in Portugal’s second tier, might not have been threatening Robin Roefs’s goal but they were succeeding in blocking and clearing pretty much everything that came their way.
While Torreense is based in Torres Vedras, the club hosted the match in Leiria due to their home ground’s inability to host European competition. An imposing 12th-century castle overlooking the arena provided a historic backdrop for the encounter, which drew a large contingent of travelling Sunderland fans. Although the official ticket allocation was 4,000, local demand saw the number of visiting supporters estimated to be twice that size. Too small to accommodate European football, Leiria’s stadium stood in, with Torreense’s home ground an hour down the motorway towards Lisbon in Torres Vedras. An arena overlooked by a 12th-century castle constructed to defend this attractive medieval town in central Portugal against reconquest by the Moors created an imposing backdrop to Sunderland’s first competitive trip to the continent for 53 years. There were plenty of travelling supporters to cheer O’Nien and co on as the ground turned into a sea of red and white. Although only 4,000 official tickets had been given to Sunderland they were readily available locally and estimates suggested the formal allocation had doubled.
Manager Régis Le Bris rotated his squad ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth, leaving key players like Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fée, and Nordi Mukiele on the bench. Luke O’Nien captained the side in central defence, but the reshuffled team struggled to find rhythm as temperatures cooled from a high of 28C. Both Malick Fofana and Nilson Angulo faced difficulties on the flanks, and the manager appeared visibly frustrated throughout a disjointed first half. The Democratic Republic of Congo midfielder capitalised on excellent work from Enzo Le Fée and Granit Xhaka to lash home an eye-catching first goal for Régis Le Bris’s side, just as those supporters’ long awaited party in Portugal had looked in peril of falling a little flat. A survivor from League One days, to captain Sunderland from central defence and he headed an early chance from a corner narrowly wide, this reshuffle permitted Luke O’Nien. As the sun dropped and the temperature fell from a high of 28C those fans watched a rather unconvincing first half on Sunderland’s part. And unusually, irritated and frustrated at times, it seemed telling that the normally fairly impassive Le Bris looked distinctly. A £30m summer signing from Lyon, was struggling wide on the left, granted his humour was hardly helped by the referee’s penchant for detecting phantom Sunderland fouls but ominously Malick Fofana. Ditto Nilson Angulo on the right wing.
Torreense, having previously shocked Sporting to win the Portuguese Cup, exploited the visitors’ lack of cohesion. Just before halftime, Volnei Feltes opened the scoring with a sublime 20-yard curling effort after being given space to advance. The home defense remained well-organized throughout, successfully stifling Sunderland’s attempts to build momentum. Earlier in the half, a goal by striker Timur Tutierov was disallowed due to a foul involving Omar Alderete.
Le Bris responded to the deficit by introducing Xhaka, Le Fée, Mukiele, and Reinildo in a quadruple substitution. The change in personnel immediately shifted the balance of play. The equalizer arrived through 20-year-old midfielder Jules Ahoka, an £8.5 million summer signing from Royal Antwerp, who headed home a precise delivery from Mukiele.
As the match neared its conclusion, a late penalty appeal involving Tutierov was dismissed following a lengthy VAR review for a suspected offside. However, Sunderland ultimately found the breakthrough in the third minute of injury time. A combination of play from Le Fée and Xhaka set up Sadiki, who controlled the ball before firing home his first goal for the club, sparking scenes of jubilation as the entire outfield squad rushed to celebrate with the travelling supporters.
