On this day in 1973, Sunderland progressed to the second round of the Cup Winners’ Cup with a 1-0 victory over Vasas Budapest thanks to Dennis Tueart in our first ever home European game in a major competition. The tie was essentially already settled going into the second leg; with the Black Cats running out of Budapest 2-0 winners, Vasas Budapest needed three goals to progress due to the away goals rule. Most of the drama for this game actually occurred off the pitch, with a rather low crowd...

On this day in 2000, current Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor was born in Rennes, France. Isidor began his senior career playing for Rennes’ reserves in the French lower leagues before transferring to Monaco and being a bit part player for their senior squad in between loan spells in lesser divisions. His first real taste of top flight competitive football came in 2022 when he transferred to Lokomotiv Moscow, where he’d spend two years and net 19 times in 42 games. Zenit Saint Petersburg then...

Sunderland concluded pre-season with a 2-1 comeback win at home to Stade Rennes. The French team took the lead via a dubious penalty in the first half but second half goals from Brian Brobbey and then Trai Hume reversed the result. It was a similar performance to the one at Lens last week, that is, encouraging. When the lineups were announced we were told that Thomas Meunier would be absent from the squad due to a minor injury sustained in training. I'd imagine it’s probably just...