The 100th season of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa, Poland's top-flight soccer league, got underway on Friday, and Legia Warsaw, the country's most successful club, grabbed the headlines with a dramatic 1-0 stoppage-time victory over a determined Pogoń Szczecin.

A Heart-Stopping Finish

The match was a tightly contested affair at Stadion Miejski im. Floriana Krygiera, home of Pogoń Szczecin, with both sides creating opportunities in an end-to-end battle. Each team finished with four shots on target, underscoring just how evenly matched the contest was.

The breakthrough finally came in the 96th minute, when Croatian defender Zoran Arsenić delivered the winning goal to secure all three points for the Legionaries.

The decisive play started with a long throw-in from Rafał Augustyniak on the left side. Jakub Żewłakow met the ball with a header in the middle of the penalty area before Mileta Rajović cleverly flicked it across goal with the outside of his foot, setting up Arsenić for the close-range finish.

The veteran Croatian center-back arrived unmarked at the back post and nudged the ball over the line after Filip Čuić failed to clear it in an aerial challenge. A series of defensive miscues during the ensuing scramble inside the six-yard box ultimately proved costly for the hosts.

Goalkeeper Valentin Cojocaru managed to swipe the ball away just fractions of a second later, but it was already too late, as the entire ball had crossed the goal line. Dimitrios Keramitsis also made a desperate attempt to clear it off the line, but he was unable to prevent the goal.

The dramatic late winner rewarded Legia Warsaw's persistence, as the visitors controlled possession for much of the match and consistently looked like the more dangerous side before finally breaking through in stoppage time.

PKO BP Ekstraklasa Standings and What's Next

With the victory, Legia Warsaw sits second in the early PKO BP Ekstraklasa standings with three points, trailing only Radomiak Radom, which opened the league's centennial season with a 2-1 home win over Wieczysta Kraków.

Matchday 1 continues on Saturday with three fixtures:

• Jagiellonia Białystok vs. Korona Kielce
• Górnik Zabrze vs. Śląsk Wrocław
• Lech Poznań vs. Cracovia

The action resumes on Sunday with another three matches:

• Raków Częstochowa vs. Wisła Płock
• Widzew Łódź vs. Motor Lublin
• Wisła Kraków vs. GKS Katowice

The opening round concludes on Monday, when Zagłębie Lubin hosts Piast Gliwice.

Legia's dramatic victory provides an ideal start to its pursuit of another domestic title, while the opening weekend of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa promises plenty more compelling action as Poland's historic 100th top-flight season gets underway.

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