Lech Poznan boss delivered this interesting verdict on Europa League draw with Sunderland

Lech Poznan head coach Niels Frederiksen said he was pleased with his players for getting off the mark in the Europa League after their 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Thursday.

The Black Cats took an early lead through Timur Tutierov but both teams had a number of good chances throughout the game, with substitute Leo Bengtsson scoring in the second half to secure the hosts' first point of the Europa League league phase.

Frederiksen said he felt his side deserved the point but also admitted that he was disappointed with the pitch, which caused problems for players on both sides throughout.

"Of course we were very happy about the goal from Leo, it was very important for us to have at least a draw in the game today," he said.

"I think it was a very even game, there were chances for both teams and both teams could have in the end taken the win. I'm satisfied with our performance and of course after losing two games 4-0, it's of course nice to get a point.

"We have to say that when we play against these Premier League teams, they are just used to playing in higher tempo with higher intensity. They are able to make this very intense high pressure and of course it's difficult for us because we are not used to that intensity in the pressure. But I think we managed.

"I also have to say, just to be honest, that of course if you are playing a team that normally you would like to play on a better pitch, it's a very, very difficult pitch at the moment. I know everybody is doing everything they can to make it as good as possible, but it was more when we get the pitch with the new grass, it was not the quality we normally would expect. That's also part of it."

Frederiksen added that he did not feel there was a big difference in his team's display to when they were beaten 4-0 at Selhurst Park by Crystal Palace in their opening game of the league phase.

"I think we have to be just a little bit humble here because we have played two games before the game today and we have lost twice 4-0," he said.

"We are happy about the point. When I evaluate the games, it's not only based on the results. I look at the performance also and I think the performance today was good. But as I said earlier, I think also our performance against Crystal Palace was quite good. I think the game today was a bit like the game against Crystal Palace, but they just punished us on some mistakes. Today we only made one serious mistake. I really liked the reaction both from this and from the team after this early. It was not a knockout, but it was at least a punch.

"For us as a team, it was a very important point. In the end, it can make a big difference."

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