Régis Le Bris loses his cool during Sunderland's comeback win over Torreense as Noah Sadiki makes history
A look at the moments you might have missed before, during and after Sunderland's historic Europa League clash with Torreense in Portugal.
Sunderland returned to European action on foreign soil for the first time in 19,335 days as Régis Le Bris' side travelled to Portugal to face Torreense in the Europa League.
The Black Cats' last European away fixture had come on November 7, 1973, when they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Sporting Lisbon in the European Cup Winners' Cup, exiting the competition 3-2 on aggregate. That campaign had seen Sunderland record three wins and one defeat, with no draws, following their famous FA Cup triumph earlier that year.
This time around, Sunderland headed to Portugal looking to build on their opening Europa League victory over AZ Alkmaar, which had left them 15th in the league-phase standings with three points. Domestically, Le Bris' side had endured a difficult start to the Premier League campaign, sitting 14th with four points from five matches, having won once, drawn once and lost three times. Their latest outing had ended in a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Brighton at the Stadium of Light, despite the visitors playing much of the second half with ten men.
Torreense, meanwhile, occupied 15th place in Portugal's second tier with six points from seven matches, having recorded one win, three draws and three defeats. The Portuguese side had also made a winning start in Europe, beating Norwegian outfit Lillestrøm 2-1.
There was plenty to pick through before, during and after Sunderland's historic trip to Leiria, and here are some of the moments you might have missed:
Le Bris rings the changes as Tutierov handed first start
Régis Le Bris made six changes to his Sunderland side against Torreense, with Ukrainian youngster Timur Tutierov handed his first senior start.
Tutierov had previously made just one appearance, coming off the bench against Hull City in the Carabao Cup. Wilson Isidor missed out through a knock sustained against Brighton, while Brian Brobbey returned to the bench following injury. Although usually deployed on the left, Tutierov had also featured through the middle for the Under-21s and during pre-season.
Granit Xhaka was rested, with Jules Ahoka coming into the side, while Malick Fofana started following Thomas Meunier's hamstring injury. Trai Hume retained his place with Nordi Mukiele absent, but the rest of the back four was changed, with Luke O'Nien and Omar Alderete returning. O'Nien also captained Sunderland on a historic European night, having represented the club in League One just a few years earlier.
First-half frustration and a stunning opener
Sunderland enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes in Portugal but found themselves behind at the break despite having the majority of possession. There was an early injury scare when Omar Alderete went down holding his face following a collision with a Torreense player inside the opening 15 minutes.
Timur Tutierov thought he had given Sunderland the lead, only for his effort to be ruled out following a foul by Alderete in the build-up. Despite enjoying the better of the play, Régis Le Bris' side struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities.
Torreense then struck with their first shot on target as centre-back Volnei Feltes rifled home a stunning effort to put the hosts ahead. Frustrations began to show towards the end of the half, with Feltes involved in a minor scuffle with Angulo and Alderete after the referee awarded a soft free-kick. Trai Hume was then booked shortly afterwards for sarcastically applauding the official, summing up Sunderland's growing frustration with some of the decisions.
Four changes turn the tide as Sunderland fight back
Sunderland were almost caught out immediately after the restart, with Torreense creating a good opportunity straight from kick-off but failing to convert.
The Black Cats should have levelled in the 57th minute when Chris Rigg delivered an excellent ball into the box for Angulo, whose effort was well saved. Omar Alderete then failed to convert the rebound.
Just two minutes later, Le Bris made a quadruple substitution, introducing Granit Xhaka, Reinildo Mandava, Nordi Mukiele and Enzo Le Fée in place of Trai Hume, Malick Fofana, Herbie Methalie and Angulo. Xhaka also took the captain's armband from Luke O'Nien.
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The changes made an almost immediate impact as Sunderland equalised through Jules Ahoka, who headed home an excellent cross from Mukiele on the right. It was a well-worked goal and a much-needed response from the visitors. There was also late VAR drama when the referee was sent to the pitchside monitor to review a potential Sunderland penalty following a challenge on Timur Tuterov. Both a possible offside and the contact in the challenge were examined, but no penalty was awarded. On balance, it looked the correct decision.
Sadiki's first goal seals historic European victory
Sunderland eventually avoided an embarrassing result in Portugal as Sadiki rifled home his first goal for the club to secure a historic victory over Torreense. The midfielder, who had been an impressive performer since arriving in the summer, picked the perfect moment to open his Sunderland account, firing home following an assist from Xhaka to complete the second-half turnaround.
It was a significant moment for Le Bris' side, who recorded the club's first-ever European away victory, having previously failed to win on the road during their European Cup Winners' Cup campaign in 1973. The final statistics underlined Sunderland's dominance, with the visitors enjoying 60.9 per cent possession, registering 22 shots compared to Torreense's three and recording 44 touches inside the opposition penalty area against just four for the hosts.
However, only five of Sunderland's 22 attempts were on target, highlighting some of the attacking frustrations that had made the evening considerably more difficult than expected. Le Bris' substitutes ultimately made the difference, with Xhaka and Mukiele particularly influential after their introductions. Six points from Sunderland's opening two Europa League fixtures represents a superb return, although the performance left plenty of room for improvement ahead of a demanding run of fixtures.
Le Bris left furious by bizarre refereeing decisions
Le Bris is not usually one to lose his cool on the touchline, but the Sunderland head coach was visibly frustrated by some of the refereeing decisions during his side's victory over Torreense. The Frenchman regularly cut an exasperated figure in his technical area as the referee repeatedly stopped play for what appeared to be minimal contact between players.
At times, it almost felt as though football had become a non-contact sport, with the official blowing his whistle for a series of soft fouls that left Sunderland struggling to build any rhythm. It was particularly puzzling given the nature of some of the challenges being penalised, with seemingly innocuous coming-togethers resulting in free-kicks and the game becoming increasingly stop-start.
Sunderland's players were clearly frustrated too. Le Bris, normally a fairly composed presence on the touchline, made his feelings clear on several occasions. It was unusual to see the Sunderland head coach quite so animated, particularly over refereeing decisions.
Of course, Sunderland's disjointed first-half performance could not simply be attributed to the officiating, but the frequency of the interruptions certainly did little to help. It was a strange evening in that respect, and one which left plenty of people scratching their heads over what actually constituted a foul.
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