Phil Smith: I watched Sunderland's comeback win and these were my key conclusions

Sunderland made it two wins from two in the Europa League league phase with a 2-1 win over SCU Torreense in Leiria on Thursday night.

Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and these were his key conclusions…

Tricky first hour leaves Régis Le Bris with much to ponder

Sunderland’s first European awayday for over 50 years could not really have ended any better. A spirited comeback, a stoppage-time winner and players leaping over the hoardings to join in with the delirious celebrations. Sunderland have made ‘Til The End their mantra and pulled off yet another late heist to leave themselves very well placed in the league phase.

For the fans who had waited for decades for this month, the trip and its grand finale was everything they could have dared dream for. All the same, you have to acknowledge that from a footballing perspective it was far from ideal that Sunderland needed their late rally and the impact of four of their most senior players from the bench to turn things around against second-tier opposition. That’s no slight on Torreense, who showed here why they were such tricky opponents for so many clubs in the Portuguese cup last season. They were well organised, kept Sunderland in areas where they were comfortable defensively and if not quite sparkling on the break at least had enough of a threat to keep the visitors honest.

Scarred a little by some big errors when trying to play out from the back in previous games, Sunderland were too ponderous and too safe in their build up. Le Bris was calm after the game and had no intention of criticising those who had come into the side, noting the difficulties that come with trying to get up to speed after time in the side.

Even so, he will surely be disappointed that a few players were unable to stake a greater claim for Premier League involvement and that Torreense were for so much of this game pretty comfortable defensively.

Part of this is inevitable: You can’t sign a full squad of players who have the quality of Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee unless you have a top-six budget, and there’s no great surprise that there is an uplift in chance creation and composure when they enter the fray. They aren’t players you can replace easily, but Le Bris needs a bit more from some of those who started here. His message was not to panic - it’s a process that will take time especially for the new summer arrivals.

Le Bris has a big decision to make in the wide areas

Nilson Angulo actually started well here, driving in one low cross that someone really should have been on the end of in the six-yard box. He worked hard and had some decent moments, denied by a very good save in the second half when he leapt to meet a corner from Chris Rigg.

There were some promising signs from him even if there ought to be more to come, but it was another quiet performance from Malick Fofana. The reality at the moment is that Sunderland look more dangerous when they play creative players such as Le Fee and Rigg in the channel, freeing up their attacking full backs to drive forward as Nordi Mukiele and Reinildo did so well late on. The issue for Le Bris is that Le Fee has been key to his team’s attacking threat over the last six months from a central position, and right now there isn’t an obvious replacement. Similarly, the team looks so much more dangerous with Mukiele at right back but Omar Alderete is still working his way back to full sharpness and so isn’t yet an obvious selection alongside Kevin Danso.

Le Bris has some tough calls to make for Bournemouth as a result, though the imminent return of Habib Diarra will give him some very welcome flexibility with Le Fee in particular.

Jules Ahoka makes another big impact

Ahoka was signed with just a handful of senior appearances under his belt but you would never have known it from his accomplished debut against Hull City, where he broke up the play well and caught the eye with a welcome habit of getting on the end of crosses in the opposition box. He was very much signed as cover for Xhaka in front of the back four, but it is quickly becoming clear that there is more to his game and as such his potential is huge.

He started brightly here, moving well and making some good interceptions and though he will have been disappointed to let Volnei get past him for the opening goal his response in the second half was excellent. Freed up to push forward by Xhaka’s introduction, he got his goal and then into a number of very good positions in the box thereafter. He is quite clearly emerging as a genuine first-team option and Le Bris will be pleasantly surprised by his rapid progress.

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Timur Tutierov’s debut a moment to savour

Tutierov had widely been expected to depart the club this summer, but the packed schedule and the tough UEFA registration rules caused a little bit of a rethink behind the scenes. The way Tutierov had applied himself behind the scenes and thrived for the U21s last season had also played a part, convincing Sunderland that they he could step up when required.

A hugely popular figure behind the scenes for his down-to-earth attitude and his work ethic, the Ukrainian has made huge strides since his arrival in 2023. It might have been forced by circumstances a little but this was a very well deserved full debut and after a solid performance, don’t rule out more starts in this league phase.

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