“HE IS A FANTASTIC PLAYER…” — SUNDERLAND BOSS DELIVERS STUNNING VERDICT ON BLACK CATS STAR AFTER AZ ALKMAAR WIN

The Frenchman was the matchwinner as Sunderland returned to European competition with a win

Régis Le Bris hailed Enzo Le Fée’s resilience after the Frenchman immediately bounced back from his penalty miss against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Le Fée won and converted the spot kick that secured three crucial points for Sunderland against AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light, in their first European game for 53 years. Le Fée opted to go for the same corner from which David Raya had so impressively denied him just days previous, but this time found the bottom corner. Despite a loose pass that almost set AZ Alkmaar away to score, the 26-year-old produced an excellent all-round performance that was crucial to his side’s win.

Le Bris said the dressing room had complete trust in him, both from the penalty spot and from open play.

“We trust him, he’s a good player,” Le Bris said.

“You can make mistakes because it’s the game. If you step up you can succeed, you can fail, it’s possible but the quality of a player is to react and stay resilient, to show up again and Enzo is this kind of player.

“He’s a great player even if he struggled a bit at the beginning of the game, which shows you are always just on the edge. When he’s in a good place and I think he is – he still has room for improvement – he’s a fantastic player, he can link the play, he can create, score, in defence, really well with the squad as well.”

Sunderland are back in Premier League action when they face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.