Stories of the Round

Pogoń Szczecin - despite the red card from an American Kellyn Acosta - won 1:0 for the third consecutive week. Piast Gliwice got three points and all three goals from substitute players in Kraków. Lechia Gdańsk came back from two goals down to tie their Trójmiasto Derby match in Gdynia and extended their historic unbeaten streak (17 games) vs Arka in Ekstraklasa. A 32-year old Bartosz Nowak stretched his league-best point streak to 5 games (2G/4A) and helped GKS Katowice collect three points against Górnik Zabrze, who are now winless in four. First career double for Mateusz Grzybek gave Zagłębie Lubin their third win in four games and improved chances of Leszek Ojrzyński’s side to qualify for European competitions.  

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Own Goals Help Legia Steal a Point

In a game that normally would be advertised as “the clash of the Polish titans” the league leading Jagiellonia took an early 2:0 lead (an absolute golazo by Leon Flach and 10th of the season for Afimico Pululu) over Legia Warsaw. But the visitors cut the deficit in half just before the break with the help from Jaga’s Portuguese defender Bernardo Vital. The good fortune of Marek Papszun’s side continued in the second as Flach scored again, but this time… into his own net. This was the third consecutive game for Jaga without a win at home (two league ties and a 0:3 loss to Fiorentina in Conference League) and a third Ekstraklasa tie in a row, but the 2024 Polish champions still sit atop of the table with 38 points. Legia, who lifted the league trophy record 15 times, are now undefeated in four (1W, 3T), but still occupy the spot in the relegation zone.

Game of the Season in Poznań 

The Lech - Raków encounter was heralded as one of the top games of the week. It did not disappoint as both teams traded punches for the entire 90+ minutes. In the first half Raków went up twice, but Lech came right back. In the second half Lech took a 3:2 lead, but a fantastic free-kick golazo by Ivi Lopez (50th career goal for Raków) leveled things yet again in the 73 min. Raków’s number 4 was called offside and with seconds left on the clock a substitute Yannick Agnero scored the game winner with a clever back heel. This was the third goal in Ekstraklasa for the 23-year old Ivory Coast player and - what’s shocking - all three were scored AFTER the 89.min This massive win helped Lech get even with Jagiellonia on points at the top of the table (Jaga have one game in hand). 

Strikers in Good Form

Round 23 was bountiful for Ekstraklasa’s top goalscorers. Karol Czubak, Mikael Ishak, Jonatan Braut-Brunes all added one more score each to their impressive tallies. The gap between them and Tomas Bobcek got smaller because the Slovakian international - despite 3 shots on goal - was held scoreless in Gdynia. Even with the third consecutive game without a goal the 24-year old sensation still leads the Golden Boot standings with 14 strikes.

One more player reached double digits this past weekend: Jagiellonia’s Pululu scored 10th of the season and equalled his total output from 2024/25 campaign. The 26-year old from DR Congo scored at least 10 goals for the Pride of Podlasie each three years he’s been in Poland.  

What to look out for in Round 24?

Star Wars in Gdańsk: on Friday the Golden Boot leader Tomas Bobcek will try to outperform Ekstraklasa's best goal-scoring duo (both Pululu and Jesus Imaz have 10 goals each for Jagiellonia this season).

Cup Losers meet in Łódź: Both Widzew and Lech Poznań made their exits from the Polish Cup competition mid week. The Reds lost to GKS in Katowice after penalties and Kolejorz suffered a surprising home defeat vs Górnik Zabrze (0:1). Which team will rebound better from these painful quarterfinal losses?

Last stop before La Viola: Raków Częstochowa are one of the two Polish teams still alive in the Conference League. On March 12th they will travel to Tuscany to square off against Fiorentina in the first leg of the ⅛ final of that competition. Their last test before that is a home match vs Pogoń, who are tough to beat as of late (3W/1T in last four).

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ROUND 23:
Motor Lublin - Arka Gdynia 2:0 (Ndiaye 18’ Czubak 34’)

Arka Gdynia - Lechia Gdańsk 2:2 (Kubiak 6’ Navarro 46’ - Sezonienko 54’ Zhelizko 57’)

Cracovia - Piast Gliwice 2:3 (Kameri 39’ Minchev 76’ - Barkovskiy 55’pk Felix 82’ Chrapek 88’)

GKS Katowice - Górnik Zabrze 3:1 (Nowak 23’ Wędrychowski 85’ Jędrych 90’pk - Liseth 44’)

Pogoń Szczecin - Widzew Łódź 1:0 (Angielski 58’, red card: Acosta)

Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza - Radomiak Radom 1:1 (Kurzawa 65’ - Tapsoba 68’)

Jagiellonia Białystok - Legia Warszawa 2:2 (Flach 17’, Pululu 22’ - Vital 45’og, Flach 56’og)

Lech Poznań - Raków Częstochowa 4:3 (Ishak 19’pk, Palma 45’, Milić 55’, Agnero 90’ - Brunes 8’pk, Jean Carlos Silva 37’, Ivi Lopez 73’)
Zagłębie Lubin - Wisła Płock 2:0 (Grzybek 14’ 66’)

Top scorers:
14 - Bobcek (Lechia)
13 - Czubak (Motor)
12 - Ishak (Lech)
11 - Brunes (Raków), Bergier (Widzew)
10 - Jesus Imaz (Jagiellonia), Pululu (Jagiellonia)

ROUND 24:
Friday, 03/06: Lechia Gdańsk (14) - Jagiellonia Białystok (1)
Saturday, 03/07: Korona Kielce (9) - Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza (18), Piast Gliwice (13) - Zagłębie Lubin (2), Widzew Łódź (17) - Lech Poznań (3)
Sunday, 03/08: Motor Lublin (11) - Górnik Zabrze (4), Radomiak Radom (12) - GKS Katowice (10), Raków Częstochowa (5) - Pogoń Szczecin (8), Legia Warszawa (16) - Cracovia (6)
Monday, 03/09: Wisła Płock (7) - Arka Gdynia (15)

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