Timur Tutierov capitalised on an early goalkeeping error
Sunderland took the lead in the second minute. Nilson Angulo crossed from the left and goalkeeper Bartosz Lis failed to deal with the ball. Timur Tutierov stayed alert at the far post and headed into the open net for his first senior Sunderland goal.
Regis Le Bris made six changes to the team that had faced Bournemouth, but Sunderland still started with energy. Habib Diarra, Jules Ahoka and Malick Fofana all found useful positions. Fofana hit the inside of a post, and Lis then saved Granit Xhaka’s follow-up.
Twenty-five attempts produced only one goal
Sunderland finished the match with 25 attempts, yet only the early header beat Lis. That poor conversion kept Lech in the contest. The visitors moved the ball into promising areas, but several shots were blocked, taken too quickly or directed too close to the goalkeeper.
Lech improved after the interval and equalised in the 70th minute. A corner was not cleared, and substitute Leo Bengtsson reacted first inside the penalty area. Sunderland had controlled much of the play, but the failure to add a second goal made that one set piece decisive.
Roefs denied Lech a winning goal
Robin Roefs made a strong double save when Lech attacked in search of a winning goal. At the other end, Dayann Methalie shot into the side-netting. Le Bris used four substitutes after about 60 minutes, but the changes did not improve Sunderland’s conversion of chances.
Sunderland now have seven points from three matches in the Europa League league phase. The early goal and the number of attempts showed that Sunderland could create chances even after changing six players from the previous match. The result also made the main weakness clear: a strong away performance must produce enough goals before the opponent is given a route back into the match.