Sunderland marked their first European game in 53 years with a 1-0 win against AZ Alkmaar in a historic Europa League clash on Wearside. The Black Cats had not played in Europe since a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon to Sporting in the Cup Winners Cup of 1973.Micky Horswill was the last Sunderland player to score in Europe before Enzo le Fees penalty served up a deserved and gutsy win for the side which finished seventh in the Premier League last season.The key moment came when teh lively Le Fee was hauled down following a devastating counter-attack, and picked himself up and coolly slotted his spot-kick into the bottom corner.Backed by a deafening home crowd, Regis Le Bris side dominated the opening 45 minutes with wasteful finishing prevented a more commanding lead.Le Fee hit the woodwork with a rasping drive before the interval before Sunderland were forced to weather substantial pressure and appeared to be clinging on into the closing stages before AZs intensity finally waned.The Black Cats missed late opportunities to make the scoreline emphatic.Elsewhere there were wins for Benfica, Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen, with the competition continuing on Thursday night.Wednesdays Europa League resultsArarat 1-4 Sparta PragueOmonia Nicosia 1-0 Celta VigoAC Milan 0-2 BenficaAnderlecht 1-2 LyonBayer Leverkusen 2-0 CeljeHapoel Beer Sheva 0-0 Dinamo ZagrebOlympiakos 2-1 Jagiellonia BialystokSturm Graz 0-0 RennesSunderland 1-0 AZ Alkmaar Topics A.C Milan Europa League S.L. Benfica Sunderland A.F.C. Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Arsenal boss Arteta let football down with weekend rant and damaged the game he claims to want to protect Jon Fisher 14th September, 2026 Sunderland v Arsenal as it happened: Updates, goals and stats Jon Fisher 12th September, 2026 Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal: Report, result, goals as Guimaraes hits winner Ben Miller 12th September, 2026 Sunderland vs Arsenal live: Arteta suffers embarrassment over booking Ben Miller 12th September, 2026 Sunderland vs Arsenal live: Confirmed teams and full line ups Ben Miller 12th September, 2026 Sunderland v Arsenal: Preview, expected line-ups, stats Mitch Fretton 12th September, 2026
