Substitute Leo Bengtsson struck eight minutes after coming on to rescue Lech Poznań's first Europa League point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in Poznań. Timur Tuterov had headed the Black Cats in front inside two minutes, and Régis Le Bris' side looked set for a third straight European win until Bengtsson levelled on 70 minutes.
Tuterov silences Poznań inside two minutes
More than 2,000 Sunderland supporters made the trip to the Enea Stadium, and they were celebrating after just 78 seconds. Lech made a mess of playing out from the back, Nilson Angulo pounced and crossed, and Tuterov headed home a simple finish for 1-0, as TNT Sports' live commentary recorded. It was the perfect start for a Sunderland side that had won its first two league-phase matches.
The hosts responded immediately, forcing Robin Roefs into a double save in a frantic opening spell, but Sunderland kept creating the clearer chances. Habib Diarra, set up by a neat Angulo backheel, drew a comfortable save from Mateusz Lis on seven minutes, while Pablo Rodríguez — who scored twice for Lech at the weekend — threatened with a darting run that ended in a tame finish from a tight angle.
Lech, pointless and bottom of the 36-team table after heavy defeats including the 4-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 2, grew into the game without seriously testing Roefs again before the break. Sunderland, who had won this competition's most dramatic game last week with Noah Sadiki's stoppage-time winner at Torreense, went in 1-0 up and in control.
Bengtsson comes off the bench to rescue Lech
The second half turned on the substitutions. Lech coach Niels Frederiksen sent on Luis Palma and Bengtsson on 62 minutes; Le Bris answered a minute later with a quadruple change — Enzo Le Fée, Sadiki, Chris Rigg and Trai Hume replacing Diarra, Granit Xhaka, Angulo and Nordi Mukiele. It was the home bench that struck gold.
On 70 minutes Bengtsson found the equaliser, finally giving the Poznań crowd the goal their pressure had been building towards and denying Sunderland the clean sheet that would have kept them perfect. Le Bris threw on Reinildo Mandava for goalscorer Tuterov late on, while Lech replaced captain Mikael Ishak with Filip Jagiełło, but neither side could find a winner. There were no red cards in a game Hungarian referee Balázs Berke kept flowing, as Sky Sports' match centre confirmed at full-time.
So what: Sunderland stay unbeaten, Lech finally off the mark
Sunderland move to seven points from three matches — wins over AZ Alkmaar and Torreense and now a draw in Poland — and remain firmly on course for the knockout rounds, with a top-eight place and direct passage to the last 16 still very much in their hands. They host Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 4, and the Croatian side's 4-2 home defeat by NEC on Thursday suggests Le Bris' men will start that one as favourites.
For Lech, a first point at the third attempt does not lift them off the foot of the table, but it stops the bleeding after the Leverkusen rout and a defeat by Crystal Palace. The bad news is what comes next: a trip to unbeaten Benfica on Matchday 4. Frederiksen's side will need more nights of resilience like this one — and more impact from Bengtsson — to keep even a play-off place alive.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Sunderland will call this two points dropped, and they are right — you do not lead from the second minute in Poland and settle for a draw if you want a top-eight finish. But Lech deserve their point: written off after an 0-from-2, minus-eight start, they refused to fold, and their manager's substitutions changed the game while Le Bris' quadruple change disrupted his own side. Was this a good point on the road for Sunderland, or a missed chance they will regret in January? Let us know in the comments.
