Sunderland surrender early lead as Bengtsson earns Lech Poznan a Europa League point

Tutierov strikes early, but Sunderland cannot finish the job

Sunderland’s winning run in the Europa League came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Lech Poznan, after an early goal and a succession of missed chances failed to secure the visitors a third straight victory.

The Black Cats took the lead in the second minute. Nilson Angulo pounced on a loose pass from goalkeeper Mateusz Lis and crossed for Timur Tutierov, who headed home from close range for his first Sunderland goal. It was the young forward’s third competitive start since joining the club’s academy in 2023.

Lech threatened before the interval, with Daniel Håkans unable to beat Robin Roefs in a one-on-one. Sunderland had opportunities to extend their advantage: Granit Xhaka tested Lis, Malick Fofana struck the post and Nordi Mukiele forced the goalkeeper into a strong save.

Bengtsson punishes Sunderland from a corner

Lis kept Lech in the match with a string of saves, including a stop to deny Mukiele after the break. The home side found their equaliser in the 70th minute when Sunderland failed to clear a corner and substitute Leo Bengtsson drove the loose ball into the bottom corner.

Lech nearly completed the turnaround soon afterwards, but Roefs produced a point-blank save to deny Michal Gurgul. Sunderland pushed for a winner through Fofana and substitute Chris Rigg, but neither could find the net.

The result leaves Sunderland unbeaten in the competition, though their opening sequence of victories over AZ Alkmaar and Torreense is over. The visitors made six changes from their Premier League defeat to Bournemouth, with Habib Diarra making his first start of the season after returning from injury.

Lech also had chances in an open contest. The two sides shared the points after Sunderland’s early advantage was cancelled by Bengtsson’s second-half response.