Torreense 1-2 Sunderland: What Le Bris saidpublished at 21:45 BST 15 October
21:45 BST 15 October
Regis Le Bris spoke after Sunderland's victory against Torreense: "Back in Europe, 53 years later, in Portugal especially, and winning this game just at the end is really special.
"It's a symbol I think and important for many reasons, the first one is for the club and our fans, they were fantastic once again.
"Also we are growing up and we need experiences. I think the team showed this evening this belief until the end, which is really important for us. We showed again that we were in this mindset."
On Sadiki: "That's important for him to step up, to add this layer in his game because he has the ability to dribble, to shoot, to make key passes. Now it's the next layer, so it's a starting point I hope."
Did you know?
Luke O'Nien tonight became the first player since 2004-05 to make 100+ appearances in each of the Championship (135), League One (149) and League Two (101) before then going to play a match in major European competition for an English club.
Torreense 1-2 Sunderland: What Sadiki saidpublished at 20:49 BST 15 October
20:49 BST 15 October
Media caption,
Sunderland matchwinner Noah Sadiki spoke to Uefa after victory against Torreense: "I'm really happy for the team because we showed great mentality today. We were down but we came back. That's what we needed to do, and now we focus on the next game."
On his goal: "Granit Xhaka told me to shoot. I didn't think twice. I was waiting for it. I'm really happy"
On Torreense: "They made it really difficult for us, even though people considered us favourites before the game. I'm really happy for them because they showed what it means to play in the Europa League, even though they're in the second division. You don't have to be scared of the big teams. So they played really well, but unfortunately for them, we won."
Listen to more from Sadiki above or on BBC Sounds and listen to reaction from Timur Tutyerov below or on BBC Sounds
Analysis: Torreense give the Black Cats a nervy nightpublished at 20:37 BST 15 October
20:37 BST 15 October
Joe Rindl BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Sunderland were playing their first away match in a European campaign in 53 years, having beaten AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at home in their Europa League opener last month.
With visits to AC Milan and Aderlecht to come, this was supposed to be Sunderland's easiest fixture on the road.
Torreense have not competed in the top tier of Portuguese football since 1991-92 and qualified for this season's Europa League by shocking Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Cup final.
Thursday's match was being played 47 miles from Torreense's home ground which does not pass Uefa's stadium criteria, while manager Luis Tralhao was not able to do post-match media duties as he does not hold a Uefa Pro license.
But, rather than cruising to victory as many would have predicted, Sunderland, who made eight changes, had a nervy night - unable to break their opponents down despite their hatful of chances.
They had an opener ruled out for a push by Omar Alderete just before Tutierov turned the ball into the net following a long throw.
Home keeper Lucas Paes also had a fantastic game making fine reflex saves to keep out Nilson Angulo and Ahoka.
Sadiki's winner means Sunderland, who are just a point above the Premier League relegation zone after a stuttering start, recorded their first away victory of the season.
Follow Thursday's European games livepublished at 16:52 BST 15 October
16:52 BST 15 October
There are 18 games in both the Europa League and the Conference League on Thursday - with Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland involved in the former, and Brighton the latter - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.
'A landmark moment'published at 12:12 BST 15 October
12:12 BST 15 October
Jonty Colman BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
S.C.U Torreense's league fixtures this season include meetings with the 'B' teams of Sporting, Benfica and Porto.
But the Portuguese second division club, located 35 miles north of Lisbon, are in this season's Europa League after stunning giants Sporting to win the Taca de Portugal in May.
"This is a landmark moment," Andre Sabino, the club's director of football and CEO tells BBC Sport.
Torreense have never played a European home match before but will end that run on Thursday when they host Sunderland (17:45 BST).
Second-tier Beira-Mar played in the 1999-2000 Uefa Cup, although they were a top-flight team at the time of qualifying. But Torreense are the first team from the second division to qualify by winning the Taca de Portugal.
"The Portuguese Cup has been played since 1938 in its current model and it was the first time that a second division team won it," Portuguese football journalist and ex-Benfica goalkeeper Jose Delgado tells BBC Sport.
After beating Lillestrom in their opening league phase fixture, they have already exceeded the expectations of some.
"I thought that Torreense could go through the Europa League with no points," adds Delgado. "The truth is that they already have three points and that is something.
"It's something that I don't think will ever happen again in Portuguese football. But Torreense has this."
With Portugal ranked outside Uefa's top five leagues, every club in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League has a responsibility to perform well to earn their nation important ranking points.
As their 2,431-capacity home at Estadio Manuel Marques does not pass Uefa's stadium criteria, they will instead face Sunderland almost 47 miles away at the Municipal Stadium in Leiria.
"Obviously, it is not ideal," Sabino explains. "Playing at home should mean playing in your own stadium, in front of your own supporters and in the environment that represents your club."
League One schedule 'simulates' top flight and Europepublished at 09:14 BST 15 October
09:14 BST 15 October
Media caption,
When Luke O'Nien joined Sunderland in July 2018, few would have envisioned that his journey with the Black Cats would include a European competition.
However, eight years later and the 31-year-old is preparing for his first away Europa League fixture.
"It is pretty amazing. In football, you get used to taking each day as it comes, as there are a lot of things to do every day. I think it is nice to have these moments chatting, sitting and reflecting. It is an incredible moment for me and the club," he said
League One football and the EFL Trophy are now a distant memory for O'Nien and the Sunderland faithful, but he believes that experience has set the foundation for the club.
"I look back at those days, and they were the making of days like these. Those days were so important - the days we lost and the days that didn't go for us."
The defender reminisced how the Black Cats' jam-packed fixture list in League One "simulates" the schedule Regis le Bris' side have now as they juggle the Premier League and European football.
"We obviously had League One, which had more games. Then we had the Papa John's Trophy [EFL Trophy], so that was a lot of games, and also the FA Cup and Carabao Cup," said O'Nien.
Having been an unused substitute in Sunderland's 1-0 win against AZ Alkmaar in their first European match for 53 years, O'Nien was asked how he would feel featuring on Thursday.
"It is not about me, it is about what the club is doing. I am very fortunate that the club has kept me, so I will keep doing my part," he said.
Le Bris on Meunier, Brobbey and Torreense warningpublished at 21:13 BST 14 October
21:13 BST 14 October
Media caption,
Sunderland boss Regis le Bris has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against Torreense at Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa (kick-off 17:45 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Thomas Meunier picked up an injury in Saturday's defeat against Brighton. It is "not a major injury," but they will have to "wait a little bit," to assess.
On Brian Brobbey's return from injury: "Brian has travelled with the squad so he will be involved more or less in the process, but we need to make sure that the process is respected and be sure that he will be available for the season."
Wilson Isidor got a knock in their last match and needs to be reassessed before Thursday's match.
Le Bris says that former Portugal defender Jose Fonte, a member of his staff, warned him that Torreense are a "really good team," despite playing in the second division of Portuguese football.
When asked if he sees a match against a lower division opponent as an opportunity to rotate: "We don't care about their division or their last results. They earned the right to be in this position. It is also important to manage the schedule and use the depth of the squad and it will be necessary."
More on Torreense: "At the start of the season they were just 1-0 down against Porto. It shows the quality if they can be competitive against one of the best teams in Europe. It is important to be aware of them."
Gossip: Sunderland monitor Rangers' Makhanyapublished at 09:10 BST 14 October
09:10 BST 14 October
Rangers are under no pressure to sell centre-back Olwethu Makhanya in the next 12 months, but the 22-year-old South Africa defender is attracting interest from Italy and Spain while Sunderland and Brentford had scouts at Saturday's win over Kilmarnock. (Football Insider, external)
How much did Man City's rule breaking cost your team?published at 12:14 BST 13 October
12:14 BST 13 October
Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent
Imagine a world where Manchester City had not used "sham contracts" to build a team capable of winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three EFL Cups.
If City were the winners, then there had to be losers - and not just those teams who finished runners-up or lost cup finals.
The potential impact runs much deeper and includes missed Champions League qualification, relegation and Premier League prize money.
Thirty-five other teams played in the English top flight between 2009 and 2018.
And every one could in some way claim to have been left financially out of pocket.
'It was just a massive fairy tale' - Horswill on 1973 European sidepublished at 07:40 BST 13 October
07:40 BST 13 October
Media caption,
Former Sunderland midfielder Micky Horswill told BBC Radio Newcastle about the club's "fairy tale" European campaign back in 1973, after the Black Cats had won the FA Cup as a Second Division side.
"Probably the week before," Horswill said, reflecting on when it finally sunk in that he would be representing the club on the continent.
"We were so busy doing things after we'd won the cup - different functions and whatever - so we never really thought about it.
"Being the kids that we were in the Second Division, we never thought about getting into Europe and playing these top teams in Europe. So it was probably just a couple of weeks before we were starting to prepare for the games. That's when we first realised what we were into.
"And there's a generation now who won't know about the European Cup Winners Cup, the Uefa Cup. The Champions League now was the European Cup. Those three competitions back in the day were big, big competitions.
"You played the best teams from each country in Europe. We were in the Second Division at the time so we weren't the best team in our country by a long way.
"But we still got there and we still were in that competition. It was just a massive fairy tale."
Sunderland 0-2 Brighton - the fans' verdictpublished at 11:10 BST 12 October
11:10 BST 12 October
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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Sunderland and Brighton.
Here are some of your comments:
Sunderland fans
Maxi: That was not good enough and most fans would agree that without Brobbey we are toothless upfront. No one equipped themselves well. Even Xhaka was under par. Roefs is too casual with his kicking and we looked clueless against 10 men. Le Bris needs to address our lack of goals at home. We are set up not to lose so when we go a goal down we lack guile.
Graham: Underwhelming in so many ways for us, yet, full respect for a team who looked calm, efficient and comfortable - at least by comparison.
Jura: Even with 10 men Brighton managed the game better than us and if we don't find a way of consistently scoring more goals the Brighton game will epitomise our season.
John: We are definitely at risk. We do not have the squad to compete in Europe and cups plus the league. Additional injuries to key players will make it very difficult.
Brighton fans
Norman: This was a masterpiece of overcoming adversity on the football field. A poor VAR decision didn't stop the excellent Seagulls from claiming all three points. Great result.
Daniel: Beginning to wonder just how far we can go this year!
Stuart: This was always going to be a stern test for us. The Arsenal result was fantastic, but we tend to do well against the top teams. It's the teams around us where we often struggle. Sunderland are a good team, winning there is a positive step for us when we might have expected to drop points. Game to game now as we have a very busy period. Nervously positive...
Terence: Brilliant. We fear nobody.
Barry: A dogged performance, so different from the victory over Arsenal. Struijk's red card was fully justified. Taking out Isidor was 'Serious Foul Play'. Very surprised that it needed to go to VAR.
Defeat by 10-man Brighton 'a wake-up call'published at 09:57 BST 12 October
09:57 BST 12 October
Image source, Getty Images
Former Sunderland defender Gary Bennett says the Black Cats' performance in Saturday's 2-0 home loss to Brighton was "laboured".
Despite playing against 10 men for over half an hour after going 1-0 down, Regis le Bris' side failed to create any clear-cut chances in the absence of injured striker Brian Brobbey.
"Brighton were excellent," Bennett told BBC Radio Newcastle post-match. "It is a wake-up call. Sunderland have got to look at themselves in regards to what went wrong in this game.
"Mistakes were punished again. The quality of balls going into the box was poor. The creativity was poor.
"There were too many players off their game - when you have three or four players not at it, you're not going to win. Were Sunderland a threat? No.
"People will be looking at Wilson Isidor as a striker. Did he do enough? Was he much of a threat? Did he get the service?
"Do we need something else up front? We're not going to get that so we need to find a different way of scoring goals or being a threat.
"Overall, the quality wasn't there. The performance was laboured. We were sloppy in our passing, the decision making was poor and the defending was poor."
Brobbey-less Black Cats blunted - analysispublished at 19:09 BST 10 October
19:09 BST 10 October
Emma Smith BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Few Premier League managers will feel more antagonistic towards the extended international window than Sunderland boss Regis le Bris.
Star striker Brian Brobbey, who scored a hat-trick at Manchester City in the final league match before the break, suffered a minor hamstring injury playing in the Netherlands' draw with Germany.
The Dutch forward, along with starting centre-back Dan Ballard and key midfielder Habib Diarra, was ruled out of this match as Le Bris' squad was left thin just before a busy period including Europa League commitments.
Without Brobbey, Sunderland struggled to create many clear chances - even while playing against 10 men for more than 30 minutes.
Their injury worries deepened here with veteran wide man Thomas Meunier forced off in the first half with a knock.
Black Cats supporters have been clamouring for Malick Fofana to start matches, but even when the Belgian winger came off the bench he was unable to sharpen a worryingly blunt frontline.
Sunderland 0-2 Brighton: What Le Bris saidpublished at 18:37 BST 10 October
18:37 BST 10 October
Media caption,
Sunderland manager Regis le Bris, spoke to BBC Sport after his side's defeat by Brighton: "Disappointing result. I think we had several games within the game. The first half was balanced, it was intense and really tight. We created a few chances but we lacked quality in the final third.
"At the beginning of the second half we were not well organised from a throw-in. Then the red card and we play against a deep block.
"We didn't show the quality or composure. We have to improve in that regard.
"We tried until the end but lacked composure under pressure."
On balancing Premier League and European football over the busy period ahead: "We earned it last season, we are looking forward to it. It will not be easy, we will have big challenges, but this is what we want to play."
Sunderland have lost back-to-back Premier League home games without scoring for the first time since April/May 2017, with this the first time they have lost two of their opening three home matches of a league season since 2017-18.
