Regis Le Bris insisted he was enjoying every single second of Sunderland's Europa League campaign after they left it late to beat Torreense at Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa. 

Sunderland made it two wins from two in Europe on Thursday as Noah Sadiki's 93rd-minute winner ensured the Black Cats survived a scare against their second-tier opponents. 

Torreense had taken the lead just before half-time through a stunning strike from Volnei Feltes, with the defender ending his driving run with a curling finish past Robin Roefs. 

However, the Premier League side hit back in the 67th minute when Jules Ahoka headed into the bottom-right corner after being teed up by substitute Nordi Mukiele's delivery. 

And just as though the spoils looked set to be shared, Granit Xhaka's lay-off was thumped in at Lucas Paes' near post by Sadiki, sending the travelling fans into ecstasy. 

Sunderland became the first English team to score a 90th-minute winning goal in the Europa League since Manchester United against Rangers in January 2025, and first away from home since Wolves at Besiktas in October 2019.

And despite their struggles in the Premier League, with Sunderland 17th with four points from their first six matches, Le Bris is embracing the challenge of European competition. 

"We're back in Europe 53 years later and winning this game right at the end is very special. It is a symbol, and important, I think, for many reasons," Le Bris said. 

"The first one is for our club and our fans. They were fantastic once again.

"Also, we are growing up, and we need these experiences, and I think the team showed this belief until the very end. It is important for us to show this mindset.

"We like it. We are looking forward to the next game, and I think we earned this opportunity [European football] last season.

"I'm enjoying every single second. It's going to be challenging and demanding but exciting as well. We want to embrace the challenge."

Two wins out of two in the Europa League #UEL https://t.co/Cia4SgWgSV

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 15, 2026

The first half saw just four shots attempted by both sides combined (one for Torreense, three for Sunderland), the fewest in the first half of a Europa League game involving an English team since Arsenal vs Qarabag in December 2018 (four).

But Sunderland found their groove in the second half, with seven of the Black Cats' eight goals in major European competition scored in the second half, including all three in this season's Europa League.

At 20 years and 160 days, Ahoka became the third African player under the age of 21 to score for an English club in the Europa League, along with Ademola Lookman for Everton (20 years, 48 days in December 2017) and Amad Diallo for Man United in March 2021 (18 years, 243 days).

Sadiki, meanwhile, picked the perfect time to score his first Sunderland goal, though he acknowledged the difficulties his team had to face against Torreense. 

"I'm really happy for the team because we showed great mentality today. We were down but we came back," Sadiki told UEFA.com

"That's what we needed to do, and now we focus on the next game. Granit Xhaka told me to shoot. I didn't think twice. I was waiting for it. I'm really happy.

"But 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."

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