Lech Poznań – Dinamo Batumi 5:0

Nobody would have predicted that the match would unfold the way it did, considering that coach John van den Brom had big problems putting together a starting line-up, especially the defensive line. Bartosz Salamon has been injured for a while now, and so is Antonio Milić. Therefore, the only two defenders left were Lubomir Satka and Maksymilian Pingot. However, the Slovak player battled an infection in the days prior to the match and Pingot fell ill just before the game. Hence, in the end, Barry Douglas – who is usually found on the flank – was positioned as a centre-back next to still-recovering Satka.

On top of that, the weather didn’t make it easy for either of the sides. Around kick-off time, the thermometers showed 36 degrees. Lech seemed to handle the heat better – within the first 10 minutes, they already found the back of the net. Michał Skóraś was the author of the first goal – his shot from 30 meters surprised the goalkeeper. 7 minutes later, the winger came close to scoring again but this time the ball hit the woodwork.

However, shortly afterward, the score did change in favour of Lech, but this time it was Joao Amaral who beat Batumi’s goalkeeper with a clever shot from the outskirts of the penalty area. A few moments later, Skóraś got another goal-scoring opportunity but this time his attempt was slightly off target. Finally, in the 33^rd minute, Lech’s homegrown player found the back of the net for the second time thanks to a bit of luck and a beautiful pass from Kristoffer Velde.

The second half looked not different – Lech was in control of the game and kept on creating goal-scoring opportunities. In the 66^th minute, Amaral scored the fourth goal and finally, in the 94^th minute, Lech’s captain set the final score to 5:0 with a beautiful shot under the crossbar.

In a week’s time, Lech will travel to Batumi to play the second leg.

Lech Poznań — Dinamo Batumi 5:0 (3:0)

Goals: Skóraś (10., 33.), Amaral (24., 66.), Ishak (90+4.)

Lech: Rudko – Pereira, Satka (67. Czerwiński), Douglas, Rebocho (88. Kozubal) – Skóraś, Karlstrom, Kvekveskiri (80. Sousa), Velde (67. Tsitaishvili) – Amaral (88. Szymczak) – Ishak

Dinamo: Kupatadze – Chabradze (26. Zaria), Kobakhidze, Azatsky, Azarovi – Teidi (71. Palavandishvili), Altunashvili – Mamuchasvili, Bidzinashvili (46. Radin), Davitashvili (79. Pantsulaia) – Flamarion (46. Vatsadze)