Śląsk Wrocław - Lech Poznań 2:1

Lech was in good spirits prior to the clash with Śląsk. The team from Poznań advanced to the round of 8 of the Europa Conference League just a few days earlier, where they will face Djurgårdens IF (on March 9^th and 16^th). For the first time in 32 years, a Polish side won a two-leg clash in the knockout stage of a European competition. However, for Lech to be able to repeat their success in the international arena next season, they ought to perform well in the league too.

Just a few days after the historic match against FK Bodo/Glimt, Lech had an opportunity to improve their situation in PKO BP Esktraklasa in an away game against Śląsk Wrocław. Prior to the Sunday match, Śląsk was ranked 11^th in the league table, 11 points behind Lech. Coach van den Brom made a few changes in the squad ahead of the weekend – Dominik Holec made a debut, Gio Tsitaishvili made his first appearance in the spring, and Filip Szymczak, who played as a winger or in the midfield in the recent matches, was positioned as a striker.

Despite the unusual line-up, Lech started putting pressure on Śląsk’s defensive line in the opening minutes of the game, eager to score. However, the hosts’ goalkeeper was playing a great match which made the objective more difficult to accomplish. Just when it seemed that it would be a matter of time before Lech scored, in the 33^rd minute, Radosław Murawski was sent off. The midfielder fouled John Yeboah just outside Lech’s box in a desperate attempt to stop the player from scoring, hence the referee showed a red card. Śląsk was awarded a set piece and Erik Expósito converted the free kick into a shot that Holec failed to stop.

In the second half, Lech created more goal-scoring opportunities, were in possession of the ball for a majority of the time, and even came close to equalizing a few times. However, 15 minutes into the second part of the match, Lech was down by two goals. Tsitaishvili’s unfortunate pass landed at Yeboah’s feet and the latter beat Holec with a precise, strong shot. In the 70^th minute, the number of players on each team evened out as Víctor García received a second yellow and, as a result, a red card. This, surprisingly, did not impact the game too much – the guests were still in control of the match and kept on creating scoring chances. One of those resulted in a goal – Joao Amaral (for whom it was also the first official appearance this spring) sent a cross into the box from the left flank and Michał Skóraś tapped the ball into the back of Śląsk’s net and scored his fifth league goal this season.

Unfortunately, the side from Poznań failed to score again and had to accept a defeat. It was Lech’s sixth league loss this season. With 36 points in their account, they are currently ranked 4^th in PKO BP Ekstraklasa. Lech’s next league clash with scheduled for Friday, March 3^rd. At 8:30 pm, John van den Brom’s team will face Lechia Gdańsk at the Poznań Municipal Stadium.

Śląsk Wrocław - Lech Poznań 2:1 (1:0)

Goals: Erik Expósito (34.), John Yeboah (57.) - Michał Skóraś (88.)

Yellow cards: Konczkowski, García, Olsen - Kwekweskiri.

Red cards: Víctor García (two yellows) - Radosław Murawski (tactical foul)

Śląsk Wrocław: Rafał Leszczyński - Martin Konczkowski, Łukasz Bejger, Konrad Poprawa, Daníel Leó Grétarsson, Víctor García - John Yeboah (78. Piotr Samiec-Talar), Adrian Bukowski (70. Michał Rzuchowski), Patrick Olsen, Nahuel Leiva (89. Karol Borys) - Erik Expósito

Lech Poznań: Dominik Holec - Alan Czerwiński (62. Joel Pereira), Filip Dagerstål, Antonio Milić, Pedro Rebocho - Gio Tsitaishvili (70. João Amaral), Radosław Murawski, Nika Kwekweskiri, ilip Marchwiński (70. Afonso Sousa), Michał Skóraś - Filip Szymczak