Lech Poznań – Zorya Luhansk 3:1

The opening minutes of the clash were balanced and marked by offensive football from both sides. Lech was the first team to build a scoring chance following a set piece. Meanwhile, Zorya replied with a shot from their forward Gromov which was successfully stopped by Buric.

For the majority of the match, the two teams fought for the ball in the midfield and neither of them managed to dominate the play. Lech also focused on both flanks, but Zorya’s defenders successfully stopped Lech’s offensive actions. Half an hour into the match, Zorya’s defense line made the first mistake. Gumny sent a long ball parallel to the pitch line and Barkroth took over the ball. The Swede’s impressive individual run was finished off by Situm.

Very shortly before halftime, Zorya’s 18-year-old goalkeeper was defeated once more. The referee awarded Lech with a penalty kick after Situm was fouled in Zorya’s box and Gytkjaer converted it into a goal, scoring for the second time during the winter preparatory camp.

Bjelica didn’t make any substitutions during halftime but instead waited until the 60th minute to replace the whole squad. A moment later Zorya built a good scoring chance, but Buric managed to stop the ball from falling into the back of the net. The Bosnian goalkeeper was helpless in the 63^rd minute when Zorya scored their only goal of the match.

In the 72nd minute, Jevtic’s attempt from a free kick was successfully stopped by Zorya’s keeper. Nonetheless, Lech remained pressing on their rival’s defensive line in order to score once more. One of the Polish team’s offensive actions was finished off by the 17-year-old Klups who’s strong shot flew above the crossbar.

2 minutes before the final whistle Lech added the third goal to their account. Oleksiy Khoblenko, one of the newest players in the squad, attempted to beat the keeper with a flat shot. Even though Zorya’s young goalkeeper managed to save the shot, Jozwiak’s attempt left him helpless. Therefore, the match ended with a 3:1 win for Lech.

Lech Poznań – Zorya Luhansk 3:1 (2:0)

Goals: Situm (35.), Gytkjaer (44. – penalty), Jóźwiak (88.) – Freitas (63)

Yellow cards: Trałka - Kharatin

Lech Poznań: Jasmin Burić - Robert Gumny (61. Marcin Wasielewski), Nikola Vujadinović (61. Emir Dilaver), Rafał Janicki (61. Thomas Rogne), Volodymyr Kostevych (61. Piotr Tomasik) - Łukasz Trałka (61. Abdul Aziz Tetteh), Maciej Gajos (61. Darko Jevtić), Mihai Radut (61. Radosław Majewski) - Nicklas Barkorth (61. Tymoteusz Klupś), Christian Gytkjaer (61. Oleksiy Khoblenko), Mario Situm (61. Kamil Jóźwiak)

Zorya Luhansk (initial XI): Andriy Lunin - Oleksandr Tymchyk, Dmytro Lytvyn, Oleksandr Svatok, Evgen Cheberko - Igor Kharatin, Artem Gordienko, Oleksandr Andrievsky - Oleksandr Karavaev, Artem Gromov, Maksym Lunyov