Sunderland beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in the Europa League in midweek.

Former Sunderland defender Gary Bennett has hailed the Black Cats for their performance in their Europa League curtain-raiser against AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday evening, but has suggested that Regis Le Bris’ men “need to put their shooting boots on” as the competition progresses.

A second-half Enzo Le Fée penalty handed the hosts all three points at the Stadium of Light, but Sunderland spurned a number of promising opportunities to win by a greater margin. And speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle after the final whistle, Bennett argued that a sharper cutting edge in front of goal will be needed going forward.

He said: "They had chances to score before but it's a learning curve for Sunderland in Europe. We created opportunities and you have to say we should have scored two or three goals. But, overall, it was a good performance. They will get better.

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"What more can you ask for in the first game? Clean sheet, you get a win, you move on and there is another big game on Sunday. Getting three points on the board is fantastic - a good start to the European campaign. When we needed to defend, we did. We put bodies on the line when called upon and [Robin] Roefs made a couple of good saves.

"It's been a fantastic occasion and the win just puts the icing on the cake. The performance was good, we now need to dust ourselves off for Sunday. But, they need to put their shooting boots on. That's for sure."

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