Sunderland secured a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday night thanks to Le Fée’s penalty
Enzo Le Fée thanked his Sunderland team mates for their trust as immediately bounced back from his penalty miss against Arsenal to be the matchwinner in the club's first European game in 53 years.
Having been denied by an outstanding David Raya save just days previous, Le Fée produced arguably his best display of the campaign against AZ Alkmaar, winning and scoring the penalty that decided the contest. Le Fée said the belief of his team mates was crucial in the moment and says he will keep stepping up for as long as they feel he is the best option to do so.
"This is the mindset of a competitor," he said.
Sign up to our Sunderland AFC newsletter
"I used to want to be at this place, it was like a dream since I started playing football.
It was a tough few days for me. We are lucky to play football because we have the opportunity to react quickly. And even if I miss, it will be part of football, but I was happy on Wednesday. If I feel like my teammates are trusting me to score, I will take the ball because to shoot a penalty is really special. It could be the first, could be the tenth time. The feeling you have is really different, and I love this feeling."
The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone.Simply click this link to join ourSAFC WhatsApp channel.
Sunderland are back in Premier League action against Manchester City on Sunday and though Le Fée knows it will be a stern test, he says the dressing room can take confidence from much of their display against Arsenal last week.
"It will be a tough game, but we have to trust ourselves," he said.
"We played Arsenal, and we did really well. You can see the difference between like a big, big team. They didn't need a lot of chances to score, and of course, I missed the biggest one we had. But we have to trust ourselves to go there and play to win, because this is our mindset.
"We have a lot of good players with quality, and everyone has to know that they will be important for the team. In football you can have your own moment at any time, so you have to be ready to take it. We work really well this way.
"Everybody knows that we need them. The starters have to know that the guys on the bench are pushing to play. It’s good competition between us."
Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland's first Europa League night was unprecedented - but it wasn't entirely unfamiliar