Sunderland beat AZ Alkmaar on European return after 53 years
Sunderland beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on 16 September 2026 to win their first European game in 53 years. Enzo Le Fée scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the second half. It was the perfect start to their UEFA Europa League campaign, Europe's second-tier club competition for teams just below the Champions League level. UEFA
Kick-off was 8pm BST on Wearside, and the sense of occasion was everywhere. Sunderland came into the night as competition debutants. This was the league phase, the opening stage where each result shapes the race for the knockouts. Sunderland AFC
Le Fée owned it. The midfielder was Sunderland's outstanding player as well as their match-winner. He set the tempo, always wanted the ball, then kept his nerve from 12 yards. A penalty is a free shot at goal, and he did not waste his. The Guardian
Captain Granit Xhaka had asked for noise. "I want to see the Stadium of Light on fire," he said before the game. He got it. The roar that met the teams told you how long this city had waited.
The club printed an 84-page limited-edition programme for the night, priced at £5. It felt like a souvenir from the start. Supporters held on to it long after the teams had gone down the tunnel.
Manager Régis Le Bris gave Malick Fofana his first start after his £30m deadline-day move from Lyon. That is the final day of the transfer window, when clubs rush to finish their squads. Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs stood between the posts for Sunderland, while Brian Brobbey, Dan Ballard and Thomas Meunier waited on the bench.
AZ Alkmaar were no soft landing. Coach Leeroy Echteld brought a side unbeaten in the Eredivisie, the Dutch top flight, with five wins and one draw from six games. Sunderland found a way past them anyway.
A 1-0 win also means a clean sheet. That matters in this format. Early points and a shutout give a newcomer room to breathe.
What makes this stand out is the wait. Fifty-three years runs from grandparents to grandchildren. Ninety minutes gave strangers something to feel together again, and one kick of the ball lifted the mood of an entire city.
