Lech loses to Basel and says 'goodbye' to Europa League

In last match of Europa League group phase Lech Poznan lost with FC Basel 0:1 and thus was eliminated from the European competition. Winger Jean-Paul Boethius got the goal for the Swiss team.

In the first minute Basel could have already scored a goal, but luckily for the hosts, the 18 year-old Ajeti did not shoot on target. It was the best goal-scoring opportunity the Swiss team created in the first half. Later on Zuffi wanted to surprise the goalkeeper with a shot from a distance, but he failed too.

Polish Champions had their chances as well. Shortly before the end of the first half Tralka's header that followed a free kick missed the goal by centimeters. Seconds after Gajos, Pawlowski and Kownacki exchange a couple of passes and the youngster was to finish the action, but his shot was blocked.

Before the referee could whistle halftime, Basel's goalkeeper called for a substitution. The 35 year-old player had to be replace by the third keeper that not only debuted in European cups, but also in the senior team, since Basel's regular starter was injured.

Lech encountered problems shortly after the beginning of the second part of the match. The guests continued attacking, but this time they seemed more efficient. Xhaka's dribbling and his pass set Boethius in a great situation that the winger easily converted into a goal. Soon after Elneny could have changed the score again, but this time Buric saved the shot successfully.

Nonetheless, Lech did not give up. Jevtic's free kick stopped on the crossbar, while Pawlowski's attempt wasn't on target. The hosts kept on trying, but without much luck. 15 minutes before the final whistle Lech's winger sent a well-timed pass to Hamalainen, who had just came on the pitch. The Finnish player was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the latter intervened well. Meanwhile, in the 83rd minute Basel got another opportunity to score, but for the second time that night Ajetis shot flew above the crossbar.

The few goal-scoring opportunities Lech built throughout the 90 minutes weren't enough even to draw. However, a win wouldn't let Lech qualify further since Belenenses failed to beat Fiorentina and the Italians joined FC Basel in the next stage of Europa League.

Lech Poznań - FC Basel 0:1 (0:0)

Goals: Boethius (50)

Lech Poznań: Jasmin Burić - Tomasz Kędziora, Marcin Kamiński, Paulus Arajuuri, Tamas Kadar - Łukasz Trałka (46. Abdul Aziz Tetteh), Karol Linetty (61. Dariusz Formella) - Darko Jevtić (73. Kasper Hämäläinen), Maciej Gajos, Szymon Pawłowski - Dawid Kownacki

FC Basel: Germano Vailati (46. Mirko Salvi) - Taulant Xhaka, Michael Lang (46. Adonis Ajeti), Walter Samuel, Adama Traore - Davide Calla, Mohamed Elneny, Luca Zuffi, Jean-Paul Boetius - Birkir Bjarnason (79. Robin Huser) - Albian Ajeti

Spectators: 10 457