Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar — UEFA Europa League: stats, lineups & analysis
HighlightsUEFAUEFA.comMatch Events
play_arrow1 clip- 22′Sunderland, yellow card:Foul
- 30′Sunderland, yellow card:Foul
- 38′AZ Alkmaar, yellow card:Foul
- Half-time
- 46′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 52′Sunderland, substitution:off
- 59′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 64′AZ Alkmaar, yellow card:Foul
- 66′Sunderland, penalty goal:1–0Penalty
- 67′Sunderland, substitution:off
- 67′Sunderland, substitution:off
- 67′Sunderland, substitution:off
- 72′Sunderland, yellow card:Foul
- 76′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 83′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 83′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 84′Sunderland, substitution:off
- Full-time1 – 0
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Sunderland
AZ Alkmaar
Match report
Le Fée penalty gives Sunderland win over AZ Alkmaar in Europa League opener
Sunderland began their UEFA Europa League League Stage campaign with a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light, the only goal arriving well into the second half of a contest played in front of referee Jeremie Pignard.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
The first period ended goalless despite Sunderland's control of possession, but the deadlock broke in the 66th minute when Enzo Le Fée converted from the penalty spot to make it 1-0. The scoreline held from there, with AZ unable to find a response despite the match remaining open until the final whistle.
Sunderland dominated territory and chances throughout, finishing with 20 shots to AZ's 11 and a clear edge in corners, underlining how thoroughly Regis Le Bris's side asserted themselves against Leeroy Echteld's visitors.
Le Fée settled the contest with his 66th-minute penalty and was rated the outstanding figure on the pitch with an 8.7 mark, while goalkeeper Robin Roefs also impressed with a 7.9 rating in a match Sunderland controlled.
Sunderland's 20 shots to AZ Alkmaar's 11 reflected their dominance in front of goal throughout the contest.
Sunderland beat AZ Alkmaar 1–0 (half-time 0–0).
Sunderland met AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League (League Stage - 1). Kick-off was Wednesday, 16 September 2026, 19:00 UTC at Stadium of Light. Referee: Jeremie Pignard.
Team pages: Sunderland · AZ Alkmaar · UEFA Europa League
Key moments
- 66' Goal (penalty): Enzo Le Fée — 1–0 · Watch Enzo Le Fée's goal video (66')
Starting line-ups
Sunderland (4-2-3-1)
- 22 Robin Roefs
- 17 Reinildo
- 15 Omar Alderete
- 4 Kevin Danso
- 20 Nordi Mukiele
- 27 Noah Sadiki
- 34 Granit Xhaka (c)
- 39 Malick Fofana
- 28 Enzo Le Fée
- 32 Trai Hume
- 18 Wilson Isidor
AZ Alkmaar (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Sunderland 33%, the draw 26%, AZ Alkmaar 41%. It finished Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar.
AZ Alkmaar's rating edge outweighs Sunderland's home ground — AZ Alkmaar are the stronger side on our strength rating, and their control of the ball on top gives AZ Alkmaar the lean. The draw at 26% is trimmed by a league that produces few draws.
Why AZ Alkmaar at 41%?
AZ Alkmaar sit 116 points higher on our strength rating — 1761 to 1877. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge on the road won 40.1% of 13,179 such games. AZ Alkmaar hold 9 more possession points (59 to 50 in recent games) across a 116-point rating gap. Control now carries a receipt beyond near-equals too: sides with this control edge at a 75–150-point rating gap won 42.6% of 8,685 such games where the class table expected 41.3%. The 300 most similar past games finished 32–29–39.
Why only 41%?
UEFA Europa League home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (22.8% vs 24.9% norm). UEFA Europa League homes won 47.6% of 4,438 games vs 44.9% across all 100,233 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why the draw at 26%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 27.2%. These teams' recent games average 3.1 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 25,100. UEFA Europa League produces fewer draws than most, taking 2.1 points off. The control factor adds 1.1 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
AZ Alkmaar scored +0.66 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. Measured across 2,872 games at this rating gap, hot-finishing sides won 42.1% vs 42.9% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it scores 0 until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Sunderland have gained 84 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 41.4% of 12,376 such games vs 40.6% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Europa League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar. Explore more on the Sunderland and AZ Alkmaar team pages or the UEFA Europa League page.