Steve Bruce felt Fraizer Campbell gave a striking masterclass as he netted four goals against former club Hull.
Sunderland were 4-1 up by half time and eventually triumphed 4-2, with Campbell at the cutting edge with his finishing power.
A makeshift starting eleven impressed against a side who were in the Premier League last season, blowing them away with a first-half blitz.
And the performance, together with the players' improving fitness levels, has Bruce salivating about a prestige clash with Portuguese giants Benfica on Tuesday.
He told SAFC TV: "We were very, very sharp and very cutting up front and Fraizer gave a masterclass against his old team.
"He was electric and what did he get? Four in thirty five minutes? It was a terrific performance.
"All round, we passed it better, the sharpness is coming a little bit better. It's what pre-season is about and Tuesday night will be a great game against Benfica, against top, top class opposition, which will be great for us.
"So yeah, looking forward to that and much, much better and hopefully things starting to click into place event though the team was probably unrecognisable.
"We've had the two new lads making their debuts down the right hand side, Kenwyne playing centre half - who I thought was terrific - so there's much to think about."
Aside from his goal blitz, Bruce also admitted he'd been impressed with Campbell's progress during pre-season.
The striker has evidently bulked up and looked a constant threat with his pace and power.
"Well he got four and he's looked very sharp in pre-season and all of a sudden...he's a young boy, we know that, but he looks like a man," Bruce added.
"His movement and his pace - he was fantastic. His finishing was terrific and for me he should have another two penalties but the refereeing left a lot to be desired."
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