A loss but without shame. Lech Poznań kicked off the Europa League group phase with a clash against SL Benfica. Despite the hosts' good performance, the Portuguese side won the game 4:2.
Whenever Lech’s coaching staff and players reassured that they were going to play offensive football against a much more experienced and stronger rival, a majority of the people didn’t believe them. However, Lech proved that these weren’t just empty words and came out for the clash with SL Benfica confident and focused. Since the opening minutes, the two sides exchanged shots and played an interesting match.
In the 8th minute, Benfica took the lead when Pizzi converted a penalty kick into a goal. Lech responded with a successful attempt of their own – Ishak finished off a counterattack with a precise shot, following a great pass from Czerwiński. Both teams had plenty of goal-scoring chances throughout the second half but only one ended up with a goal – Nunez helped Benfica get back in the lead with an impressive header on target.
Shortly after the halftime, Lech once again changed the score to a draw. This time Ishak placed the ball in the net with a follow-up shot after Kamiński failed to beat the keeper. A few moments earlier, Vertonghen fouled Skóraś in a clear one-on-one situation with Benfica’s goalkeeper which seemed to be an indisputable red card, however, the referee did not penalise the player for the foul.
Benfica gradually dominated the game and despite Lech having a few good scoring chances, it was the Portuguese side that changed the score twice. In the 60th minute, Nunez tricked Crnomarkovic and confidently beat Bednarek with a flat shot. Shortly before the final whistle, the forward scored a hattrick with a shot from a close distance and set the final score to 4:2 for SL Benfica.
Lech Poznań – SL Benfica 2:4 (1:2)
Goals: Ishak (15, 49) – Pizzi (8 - penalty), Nunez (42, 60, 90).
Lech Poznań: Bednarek – Czerwiński, Dejewski, Crnomarković, Puchacz (75 Kravets) – Skóraś (90 Awwad), Tiba, Moder, Kamiński (67 Marchwiński) – Ramirez (67 Muhar) – Ishak (75 Kacharava)
SL Benfica: Vlachodimos – Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo (67 Tavares) – Taarabt (61 Weigl), Gabriel, Pizzi (46 Silva) – Everton (87 Jardel), Nunez, Waldschmidt (61 Pedrinho)
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