There was plenty of Polish participation last night, with Lech Poznań front and centre of a big night for Polish football, as well as top-class internationals playing in three other games.
Kamil Piątkowski - Gent 1-1 West Ham
Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
This was Piątkowski’s first game back from the muscle injury that meant he had to withdraw from Poland’s March internationals, and it never really looked apparent. In the first half the home side generally defended well, except for the moment when the entire defence fell asleep at a quick throw in, resulting in a slender advantage for the Hammers going into half time.
In the second half, Gent equalised thanks to a lovely move that saw the Belgians just sweep through the visitors. Piątkowski picked up a booking for a strong challenge on Said Benrahma, clearing him out with his followthrough after winning the ball.
For the most part, Piątkowski looked assured on the ball and defended perfectly adequately, helping Gent to a well-deserved draw going into the second leg. His most impressive action came right at the death, when he made an absolutely perfect last-ditch challenge on Lucas Paqueta. The referee sent him off, before the red card was correctly rescinded after VAR review.
It was a really quite superb performance all round from Piątkowski, and for that reason I wouldn’t be at all surprised if (like in January) there are plenty of clubs queueing up to secure his signature, given he hasn’t really been developing well enough at RB Salzburg for anyone’s liking. This is partly due to injury, yes, but even when fit he wasn’t being chosen for the starting XI as often as he is now.
Sebastian Szymański, Nicola Zalewski - Feyenoord 1-0 Roma
Images via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
A truly brilliant game that summed up why the Europa League is just as much a competition worth watching as the Champions League. In a febrile atmosphere in Rotterdam, with no away fans allowed in either leg, there was a great chance for the current Eredivisie leaders to take an advantage into the second leg.
They did just that, as Oussama Idrissi beat Zalewski on the wing early in the second half and pulled the ball back. The pull back was far further than either Idrissi or the Roma defence expected, and young Austrian midfielder Mats Wieffer caught the ball on the volley from about 25 yards out, resulting in a lovely goal as it bounced past everyone into Rui Patricio’s net.
Despite being beaten in the run-up to the goal, Zalewski actually looked like the Roma player most likely to make things happen. He made a number of good runs with the ball down the right wing, sent in dangerous crosses and corners and had a fierce shot blocked by a Feyenoord defender after he cut inside and beat another man.
Szymański played well, but so did the whole Feyenoord team and in truth did little to stand out. He picked up a booking as well, but has not accrued enough to warrant a suspension. The best thing to say about Szymański’s performance is that he was part of a midfield that absolutely dominated their opponent’s midfield, and considering Roma’s midfield contained experienced, Premier League and Champions League-winning players, is a really strong accomplishment.
Lech Poznań 1-4 Fiorentina
Image via @LechPoznan on Twitter
On what was such a huge night for Polish football, Lech certainly had it all to do. The news earlier in the day that Bartosz Salamon would be suspended pending appeal for a positive doping test certainly didn’t help things, as did already missing Filip Dagerstal, Radosław Murawski and Filip Szymczak.
Therefore, I think many of us before kick-off would’ve taken a draw or narrow loss. Unfortunately, within 90 seconds Fiorentina took the lead after a shot rebounded back off the post, onto the back of Filip Bednarek and was tucked away by Arthur Cabral.
Lech’s equaliser was brilliant, however. A wonderful nod down by Mikael Ishak saw Kristoffer Velde smash home a fantastic half-volley. The home side were holding out, until a few minutes before half-time when Nicolas Gonzalez saw his header beat Bednarek.
The second half didn’t really ever get going for Lech, and they found themselves 3 and then 4-1 down in quick succession.
Despite the result which means Lech face a nigh-on impossible task next week in Florence, it was an okay performance and the quality of the opposition always meant further progression would’ve eluded Lech. The referee was quite inconsistent with his awarding of fouls, but hardly four goals’ worth. All in all, a result to forget but a first half to remember.
Wojciech Szczęsny, Arkadiusz Milik - Juventus 1-0 Sporting Lisbon
Images via @juventusfcen on Twitter
Juventus were made to work hard for a result when they often found themselves dominated by the away side in a close game that is sure to be equally as engrossing a watch when they travel to the Portuguese capital for the second leg.
Szczęsny was forced into a number of decent saves before he was forced off the pitch. Colliding with the post, he then struggled to breath and was taken off as a precaution. Luckily, tests he underwent revealed no issues, and Szczęsny was in a joking mood when speaking to Sky Italia post-match.
Milik never really got a chance to have a shot at goal, such was a combination of a Juventus midfield second to everything and a surprisingly poor performance from Angel Di Maria meant that Milik didn’t get much in the way of quality service. He was replaced mid-way through the second half for Dusan Vlahovic.
In the end, it took a mistake from Sporting keeper Antonio Adan to result in the home side’s goal. He couldn’t claim the ball cleanly at a corner and Juve centre-half Federico Gatti poked the ball into the net. An amazing double save from Szczęsny’s replacement Mattia Perin in stoppage time at the end of the game means that Juventus have a slender advantage ahead of next week.
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