Sunderland have made English football history in Europe thanks to a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory against Torreense.

Noah Sadiki scored with a brilliant volley during second-half stoppage time to maintain their 100 per cent record in the Europa League.

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Portuguese side Torreense led on 37 minutes when Volnei Feltes scored via a stunning long-range strike at Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa.

However, Jules Ahoka headed in for Sunderland midway through the second half before Sadiki became their last-minute hero.

Sunderland reach new heights with late win

The Black Cats have now won five of their total six fixtures in major European competitions.

This is the fewest number of games by any English club to reach five such victories.

Four of these fixtures came during the 1973/74 Cup Winners' Cup, in which they won three and lost one.

In this season's Europa League, they beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on the first matchday.

West Ham United, Ipswich Town and Queens Park Rangers held the previous record with seven matches.

Sunderland are also the first English side since Wolves at Besiktas in October 2019 to score an away winner past the 90th minute.

They sit in the top eight of the Europa League league phase with the victories over Torreense and over AZ Alkmaar.

Should they remain in these spots after their eight matches, they will advance straight into the knockout stages.

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Sunderland qualified for the Europa League by finishing seventh in the Premier League last season.

They have been tipped to go all the way, which could make them the seventh English side to win the tournament.

Only Aston Villa, Chelsea, Ipswich, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham have won Europe's second-tier competition.

Sunderland travel to Lech Poznan next week before back-to-back home matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Regis Le Bree's side then face seven-time Champions League winners AC Milan at San Siro.

Anderlecht and Levski Sofia are their final two opponents in January.