Polish Cup round of 32 - results
Rekord Bielsko-Biała - Pogoń Szczecin 3:3, 11:12 on penalties
Zagłębie Sosnowiec - Raków Częstochowa 0:1
Stal Mielec - Piast Gliwice 0:3 AET
KKS Kalisz - Olimpia Elbląg 2:0
Górnik Łęczna - Korona Kielce 1:0
Wisła Płock - Legia Warszawa 0:3
Radunia Stężyca - Lechia Gdańsk 1:4
Resovia - Cracovia 4:3
Sandecja Nowy Sącz - Warta Poznań 2:1
Motor Lublin - Zagłębie Lubin 1:0 AET
Wisła Kraków - Puszcza Niepołomice 2:2, 6:5 on penalties
Lech Poznań - Śląsk Wrocław 1:3
Pogoń Siedlce - Chrobry Głogów 3:1
Zawisza Bydgoszcz - Radomiak Radom 1:3
GKS Katowice - Górnik Zabrze 1:2
Another very exciting round of football. It began with Pogoń, almost eliminated, but they scored a last-minute equalizer to give them extra time, and then played 14 rounds of penalty shoot-out. Just to make clear, Rekord is a team from III liga (4th tier) and Pogoń used mainly their best players.
Raków scored a last minute winner vs Zagłębie and Legia took revenge on Wisła Płock. On the following day, Resovia (I liga side) took the lead three times vs Cracovia to finally beat them. The last and absolutely the worst team in I liga, Sandecja, scored in the injury time to eliminate Warta. Zagłębie disgraced themselves totally vs Motor, they got two red cards in the extra time too. So did Puszcza, but managed to equalize in 120'+ to achieve PSO vs Wisła, but the young guy who scored the 2:2 goal, failed to convert his penalty in the shoot-out.
At the end of the night, Lech lost first domestic match since two months, which was also vs Śląsk. There is one serious reason for that. GK Artur Rudko was back in goal after several weeks and gifted two goals to Śląsk. You might remember him from Qarabag matches. I know it might sound exaggerating, but I really wonder if I saw a worse keeper in this league. It seems that Lech didn't do much research about him, but still they pay him a lot and decide to field him from time to time. Maybe some Ukrainian or Greek users can confirm or deny, but I heard he was pretty much the same pathetic level in other clubs.
Today both Ekstraklasa sides succeeded, but Chrobry (I liga) were outclassed by Pogoń Siedlce (II liga).
All in all, 10 Ekstraklasa clubs are out from the competition. This week there were Stal, Wisła Płock, Lech (all had Ekstraklasa opposition), Korona, Cracovia, Warta and Zagłębie, last week - Jagiellonia, and previous round - Miedź and Widzew. We have one III liga side still in play, Lechia Zielona Góra.
Round of 16 draw will be held tomorrow at noon CET.
Polish Football Season 2022/23
Polish Cup round of 16 - result of the draw
Pogoń Siedlce - Resovia
Górnik Łęczna - Piast Gliwice
KKS 1925 Kalisz - Górnik Zabrze
Pogoń Szczecin - Raków Częstochowa
Lechia Zielona Góra - Radomiak Radom
Motor Lublin - Wisła Kraków
Lechia Gdańsk - Legia Warszawa
Sandecja Nowy Sącz - Śląsk Wrocław
What a clash, Pogoń vs Raków. Legia will play another 'two-legged tie' - they face Lechia in the league at the weekend before the cup.
This round will be played from 8 to 10 November.
Pogoń Siedlce - Resovia
Górnik Łęczna - Piast Gliwice
KKS 1925 Kalisz - Górnik Zabrze
Pogoń Szczecin - Raków Częstochowa
Lechia Zielona Góra - Radomiak Radom
Motor Lublin - Wisła Kraków
Lechia Gdańsk - Legia Warszawa
Sandecja Nowy Sącz - Śląsk Wrocław
What a clash, Pogoń vs Raków. Legia will play another 'two-legged tie' - they face Lechia in the league at the weekend before the cup.
This round will be played from 8 to 10 November.
There are reports that Wisła Kraków (currently 11th in the 2nd tier) have such big financial difficulties that further existence of the club under current license is a big unknown. More than 10 million PLN are missing in the club budget according to M. Miga from TVPSport and Wisła face a real danger to became a bankrupt soon. The only way to save the club is finding new owner who would pay the debts.
Wisła starting from lower tiers would be a huge loss for Polish football.
Wisła starting from lower tiers would be a huge loss for Polish football.
Matchday 14
League table
Results
Widzew Łódź - Miedź Legnica 1:0
Bartłomiej Pawłowski 8'
Attendance: 16 633
Stal Mielec - Wisła Płock 1:1
Piotr Wlazło 19' (penalty) - Damian Warchoł 90'+1
Attendance: 4412
Legia Warszawa - Pogoń Szczecin 1:1
Filip Mladenović 44' - Jakub Bartkowski 51'
Attendance: 21 784
Raków Częstochowa - Korona Kielce 1:0
Ivi López 63' (penalty)
Attendance: 5237
Warta Poznań - Górnik Zabrze 0:0
Attendance: 1638
Śląsk Wrocław - Jagiellonia Białystok 2:2
Petr Schwarz 45'+2, Piotr Samiec-Talar 58' - Marc Gual 24', Jakub Lewicki 66'
Attendance: 7870
Cracovia - Lech Poznań 0:0
Attendance: 12 158
Piast Gliwice - Radomiak Radom 1:2
Michael Ameyaw 36' - Luís Machado 32', Roberto Alves 72'
Attendance: 2721
Zagłębie Lubin - Lechia Gdańsk 0:3
Flávio Paixão 18', Jarosław Kubicki 67', Michał Nalepa 78'
Attendance: 3280
Top scorers:
8 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Jesús Imaz (Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Marc Gual (Jagiellonia Białystok), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
6 - Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk)
5 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Ivi López (Raków Częstochowa), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartłomiej Pawłowski (Widzew Łódź), Rafał Wolski (Wisła Płock)
An absolutely horrible round. Fortunately there were two or three entertaining matches, but most of them were waste of time.
Surprisingly, Legia looked good again and had a great chance to beat Pogoń, but Carlitos missed a penalty in the added time of the first half. It was saved by Bartosz Klebaniuk, for whom it was league debut after 114 consecutive games of Dante Stipica between the posts.
Widzew are now second thanks to another clean sheet, although Miedź were dangerous in the second half. The order in the table on places 2nd and below is not so important now, as everything can mix up every week. Only Raków collect points regularly, but to be honest, the used to play better last year. Now, they have 7 clean sheets in a row and next week they will go to Poznań to play vs Lech.
The latter team is making me anxious. You could blame the keeper to throw them out of the cup, but in the league it was the entire team that played miserably. They were very lucky not to lose vs Cracovia, who weren't impressive either. In the league, Lech leveled the record of 12 straight away games without a defeat, but in Europe it's quite the opposite. And I'm really worried that they won't do it vs Austria in Vienna, which would mean they could throw away an excellent chance to go through.
League table
Results
Widzew Łódź - Miedź Legnica 1:0
Bartłomiej Pawłowski 8'
Attendance: 16 633
Stal Mielec - Wisła Płock 1:1
Piotr Wlazło 19' (penalty) - Damian Warchoł 90'+1
Attendance: 4412
Legia Warszawa - Pogoń Szczecin 1:1
Filip Mladenović 44' - Jakub Bartkowski 51'
Attendance: 21 784
Raków Częstochowa - Korona Kielce 1:0
Ivi López 63' (penalty)
Attendance: 5237
Warta Poznań - Górnik Zabrze 0:0
Attendance: 1638
Śląsk Wrocław - Jagiellonia Białystok 2:2
Petr Schwarz 45'+2, Piotr Samiec-Talar 58' - Marc Gual 24', Jakub Lewicki 66'
Attendance: 7870
Cracovia - Lech Poznań 0:0
Attendance: 12 158
Piast Gliwice - Radomiak Radom 1:2
Michael Ameyaw 36' - Luís Machado 32', Roberto Alves 72'
Attendance: 2721
Zagłębie Lubin - Lechia Gdańsk 0:3
Flávio Paixão 18', Jarosław Kubicki 67', Michał Nalepa 78'
Attendance: 3280
Top scorers:
8 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Jesús Imaz (Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Marc Gual (Jagiellonia Białystok), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
6 - Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk)
5 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Ivi López (Raków Częstochowa), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartłomiej Pawłowski (Widzew Łódź), Rafał Wolski (Wisła Płock)
An absolutely horrible round. Fortunately there were two or three entertaining matches, but most of them were waste of time.
Surprisingly, Legia looked good again and had a great chance to beat Pogoń, but Carlitos missed a penalty in the added time of the first half. It was saved by Bartosz Klebaniuk, for whom it was league debut after 114 consecutive games of Dante Stipica between the posts.
Widzew are now second thanks to another clean sheet, although Miedź were dangerous in the second half. The order in the table on places 2nd and below is not so important now, as everything can mix up every week. Only Raków collect points regularly, but to be honest, the used to play better last year. Now, they have 7 clean sheets in a row and next week they will go to Poznań to play vs Lech.
The latter team is making me anxious. You could blame the keeper to throw them out of the cup, but in the league it was the entire team that played miserably. They were very lucky not to lose vs Cracovia, who weren't impressive either. In the league, Lech leveled the record of 12 straight away games without a defeat, but in Europe it's quite the opposite. And I'm really worried that they won't do it vs Austria in Vienna, which would mean they could throw away an excellent chance to go through.
It's worth noting that Wisła, since they have been relegated, changed the president (Jakub Błaszczykowski's brother was replaced by a sponsor representative) and the coach (Błaszczykowski's uncle was replaced by his assistant). One of the owners quit the board of directors as there are some tensions within the club. One thing that doesn't change are the results that keep them in the middle of the table. Unless they advance this season or find a new investor, they are going to collapse indeed.Greyn wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 12:46 There are reports that Wisła Kraków (currently 11th in the 2nd tier) have such big financial difficulties that further existence of the club under current license is a big unknown. More than 10 million PLN are missing in the club budget according to M. Miga from TVPSport and Wisła face a real danger to became a bankrupt soon. The only way to save the club is finding new owner who would pay the debts.
Wisła starting from lower tiers would be a huge loss for Polish football.
So, Widzew, one of the main candidates to be relegated before the start of the season according to bookmakers, are currently 2nd after 14 matchdays. Welcome to the Polish Ekstraklasa
Relegation Odds
Stal Mielec - 1.35
Korona Kielce - 2.25
Widzew Łódź - 2.75
Miedź Legnica - 3.00
Radomiak Radom - 4.00
Warta Poznań - 4.00
Wisła Płock - 6.00
Jagiellonia Białystok - 6.00
Zagłębie Lubin - 6.00
Śląsk Wrocław - 12.50
Górnik Zabrze - 12.50
Cracovia - 12.50
Piast Gliwice - 20.00
Lechia Gdańsk - 20.00
Pogoń Szczecin - 75.00
Raków Częstochowa - 200.00
Legia Warszawa - 250.00
Lech Poznań - 500.00
or, perhaps, bookies simply embarrassed themselves. 
Legia has a GD of +1 and was even the leaders with this GD for a short period of time. IMO Kosta Runjaić is doing a good job in Legia and maximize point gains in relation to potential of the team he is coaching. Not many Legia fans expected a championship title this year, as the club is in a quite bad financial condition. Thanks to Jacek Zieliński and his smart transfer policy last summer, current state of affairs in Legia is not so bad. Finishing at 2nd-4th places (or/and winning the Polish Cup) and qualifying for Europe is a reasonable expectation from Legia at this point of the season.
At least J. Błaszczykowski had good intentions, he tried to save Wisła, but this "family business" went wrong. As you know, Wisła are only 4 points behind GKS Katowice (5th) and Chrobry (6th) who occupy last 2 Play-off places. Nothing lost yet for Wisła in terms of promotion to Ekstraklasa, but their problem is that last performances of the team were far from impressive. They are rather going down in the table, than up. Those tensions in the club board and financial difficulties may have an impact on the players and Radosław Sobolewski is a very inexperienced coach. It is another experiment. I wish him all the best though, as I always rated him very high when he was a Wisła player. Every season he was one of the best players in the Polish league and, arguably, the best defensive midfielder in the league for long period of time.Juliusz wrote: ↑Tue Oct 25, 2022 01:20
It's worth noting that Wisła, since they have been relegated, changed the president (Jakub Błaszczykowski's brother was replaced by a sponsor representative) and the coach (Błaszczykowski's uncle was replaced by his assistant). One of the owners quit the board of directors as there are some tensions within the club. One thing that doesn't change are the results that keep them in the middle of the table. Unless they advance this season or find a new investor, they are going to collapse indeed.
We will see, a few next months should be decisive regarding the club future. I hope that Wisła will avoid the darkest scenario...
It looks like Rakow is the firm favourite for the title in Poland this season.
As @Juliusz wrote - they are not as impressive as they were last year, but they are very efficient. They take advantage of Legia's weakness and Lech playing in Europe, who also still have their problems. If Legia can't win the title, I want them to be the champions. I believe that this time, finally, they would have a successful season in Europe.
Raków with their 6-point advantage are currently one of the "clearest" table leaders in Europe.
No surprise that Dinamo Zagreb with an 8-point advantage after 13 matchdays are at the top in this statistic.
No surprise that Dinamo Zagreb with an 8-point advantage after 13 matchdays are at the top in this statistic.
Matchday 15
League table
Results
Miedź Legnica - Pogoń Szczecin 2:4
Koldo Obieta 6', 45' - Sebastian Kowalczyk 11' (penalty), 13', 75' (penalty), Kamil Grosicki 67'
Attendance: 5332
Górnik Zabrze - Widzew Łódź 3:0
Szymon Włodarczyk 18', 45'+6, Lukas Podolski 24'
Attendance: 19 493
Korona Kielce - Piast Gliwice 1:1
Jakub Łukowski 16' - Kamil Wilczek 77'
Attendance: 6628
Jagiellonia Białystok - Legia Warszawa 2:5
Marc Gual 16', Mateusz Kowalski 77' - Josué 28', 40', 72', Filip Mladenović 30', Maik Nawrocki 47'
Attendance: 16 635
Wisła Płock - Śląsk Wrocław 1:2
Damian Warchoł 84' - John Yeboah 61', Patrick Olsen 90'
Attendance: 4300
Zagłębie Lubin - Cracovia 0:2
Benjamin Källman 67', Patryk Makuch 86'
Attendance: 4012
Lechia Gdańsk - Stal Mielec 1:0
Łukasz Zwoliński 73'
Attendance: 6920
Lech Poznań - Raków Częstochowa 1:2
Michał Skóraś 67' - Patryk Kun 49', Fabian Piasecki 90'+3
Attendance: 22 817
Radomiak Radom - Warta Poznań 2:3
Luís Machado 46', Filipe Nascimento 64' (penalty) - Miguel Luís 20', 32', Adam Zreľák 65'
Attendance: 3685
Top scorers:
8 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
6 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
A serious title contender might be out of the race so early in the season. Although Lech keeps collecting points, this gap might be too big to cover. Actually, it is hard to imagine anyone to catch up with Raków. In the match itself, despite late goal of the guests, Raków's win was deserved. Just before 90th minute, Fabian Piasecki caused Fran Tudor's goal to be disallowed, because he played the ball with his hand. It was very similar to something that happened in València vs Barcelona match this weekend. But just as people uttered curses against him, he scored the winning goal. Being a striker at Raków is not an easy job, believe me.
We had two brilliant individual performances this weekend. Both Sebastian Kowalczyk and Josué scored hat-tricks. The former had one assist too, but two of his three goals were penalties, while the latter didn't have any assists, but scored two very nice goals in the first half. Both failed to convert one more great chance. Anyway, both Pogoń and Legia, despite some problems, recorded impressive away wins and are now in top 3. This is because all our 'season surprises', namely Widzew, Wisła and Stal, lost this week.
On Thursday, Piast Gliwice sacked Waldemar Fornalik. He is already a legend of two clubs - after Ruch Chorzów, he deserved this status at Piast as well. He had a 5-year spell at Piast, which is unusual here. In his first season, he barely avoided relegation in the last match, and in the second season, he won the first even championship title with this club. Since then, Piast was the only club not to finish below top 6. To be honest, his results in Europe were poor, but at least he managed to eliminate Dinamo Minsk and TSV Hartberg on the second attempt. Unfortunately, Piast play much below their potential and instead of being a mid-table team, they are in the relegation zone. Against Korona, there was already a new coach - Aleksandar Vuković. After the match, Korona's Leszek Ojrzyński was sacked as well. Until the end of the year (two matches, vs Lech and Widzew) assistant coach Kamil Kuzera will take care of the team.
If you ask me, is it worth to wait for Monday matches, I have to answer - of course it is. I thought there is no way for a more bizarre goal than in Stal vs Śląsk match, but now there is a new favourite. Goal should be awarded to Miguel Luís, but look what did Radomiak's keeper do: https://streamable.com/x5ryby
League table
Results
Miedź Legnica - Pogoń Szczecin 2:4
Koldo Obieta 6', 45' - Sebastian Kowalczyk 11' (penalty), 13', 75' (penalty), Kamil Grosicki 67'
Attendance: 5332
Górnik Zabrze - Widzew Łódź 3:0
Szymon Włodarczyk 18', 45'+6, Lukas Podolski 24'
Attendance: 19 493
Korona Kielce - Piast Gliwice 1:1
Jakub Łukowski 16' - Kamil Wilczek 77'
Attendance: 6628
Jagiellonia Białystok - Legia Warszawa 2:5
Marc Gual 16', Mateusz Kowalski 77' - Josué 28', 40', 72', Filip Mladenović 30', Maik Nawrocki 47'
Attendance: 16 635
Wisła Płock - Śląsk Wrocław 1:2
Damian Warchoł 84' - John Yeboah 61', Patrick Olsen 90'
Attendance: 4300
Zagłębie Lubin - Cracovia 0:2
Benjamin Källman 67', Patryk Makuch 86'
Attendance: 4012
Lechia Gdańsk - Stal Mielec 1:0
Łukasz Zwoliński 73'
Attendance: 6920
Lech Poznań - Raków Częstochowa 1:2
Michał Skóraś 67' - Patryk Kun 49', Fabian Piasecki 90'+3
Attendance: 22 817
Radomiak Radom - Warta Poznań 2:3
Luís Machado 46', Filipe Nascimento 64' (penalty) - Miguel Luís 20', 32', Adam Zreľák 65'
Attendance: 3685
Top scorers:
8 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
6 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
A serious title contender might be out of the race so early in the season. Although Lech keeps collecting points, this gap might be too big to cover. Actually, it is hard to imagine anyone to catch up with Raków. In the match itself, despite late goal of the guests, Raków's win was deserved. Just before 90th minute, Fabian Piasecki caused Fran Tudor's goal to be disallowed, because he played the ball with his hand. It was very similar to something that happened in València vs Barcelona match this weekend. But just as people uttered curses against him, he scored the winning goal. Being a striker at Raków is not an easy job, believe me.
We had two brilliant individual performances this weekend. Both Sebastian Kowalczyk and Josué scored hat-tricks. The former had one assist too, but two of his three goals were penalties, while the latter didn't have any assists, but scored two very nice goals in the first half. Both failed to convert one more great chance. Anyway, both Pogoń and Legia, despite some problems, recorded impressive away wins and are now in top 3. This is because all our 'season surprises', namely Widzew, Wisła and Stal, lost this week.
On Thursday, Piast Gliwice sacked Waldemar Fornalik. He is already a legend of two clubs - after Ruch Chorzów, he deserved this status at Piast as well. He had a 5-year spell at Piast, which is unusual here. In his first season, he barely avoided relegation in the last match, and in the second season, he won the first even championship title with this club. Since then, Piast was the only club not to finish below top 6. To be honest, his results in Europe were poor, but at least he managed to eliminate Dinamo Minsk and TSV Hartberg on the second attempt. Unfortunately, Piast play much below their potential and instead of being a mid-table team, they are in the relegation zone. Against Korona, there was already a new coach - Aleksandar Vuković. After the match, Korona's Leszek Ojrzyński was sacked as well. Until the end of the year (two matches, vs Lech and Widzew) assistant coach Kamil Kuzera will take care of the team.
If you ask me, is it worth to wait for Monday matches, I have to answer - of course it is. I thought there is no way for a more bizarre goal than in Stal vs Śląsk match, but now there is a new favourite. Goal should be awarded to Miguel Luís, but look what did Radomiak's keeper do: https://streamable.com/x5ryby
Matchday 16
League table
Results
Stal Mielec - Zagłębie Lubin 3:0
Piotr Wlazło 56' (penalty), Saïd Hamulic 75', Paweł Żyra 85'
Attendance: 4871
Legia Warszawa - Lechia Gdańsk 2:1
Dušan Kuciak 74' (own goal), Yuri Ribeiro 87' - Łukasz Zwoliński 57'
Attendance: 20 946
Piast Gliwice - Warta Poznań 0:2
Miguel Luís 31', Dimítris Stavrópoulos 80'
Attendance: 4235
Cracovia - Jagiellonia Białystok 1:0
Matej Rodin 77'
Attendance: 9628
Pogoń Szczecin - Górnik Zabrze 1:4
Luka Zahovič 42' - Aleksander Paluszek 5', Kanji Okunuki 53', Szymon Włodarczyk 56', Lukas Podolski 73'
Attendance: 19 615
Raków Częstochowa - Wisła Płock 7:1
Vladislavs Gutkovskis 3', 7', 37' (penalty), 41', Bartosz Nowak 60', Vladyslav Kochergin 88', 90'+1 - Davo 45'+2
Attendance: 5367
Miedź Legnica - Śląsk Wrocław 1:0
Chuca 41'
Attendance: 5418
Widzew Łódź - Radomiak Radom 1:3
Jordi Sánchez 50' - Mateusz Grzybek 2', Lisandro Semedo 27', Luís Machado 90'+1
Attendance: 17 442
Lech Poznań - Korona Kielce 3:2
Mikael Ishak 41' (penalty), João Amaral 47', Filip Szymczak 90'+3 - Jakub Łukowski 56' (penalty), Jacek Podgórski 79' (penalty)
Attendance: 12 745
Top scorers:
9 - Davo (Wisła Płock)
8 - Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
7 - Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
6 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk)
Some teams dominated a lot in their matches this weekend. Not all of them won though. Lech were close to drop points vs Korona, which would have been incredible. They had over 30 attempts and had everything under their control, but Korona got two penalties after VAR analysis. Then, there was a controversial call and Korona didn't get their third pen, although it was more clear for me than the first one. In this short period Korona played quite well, hit the post twice in a single opportunity, so it all could have ruined Lech's evening very quickly. Instead, Szymczak scored his first league goal and Lech are very close to top 3 now (and they have one match in hand, vs Miedź, to be played in January).
Performance of Raków was incredible. They won many matches 1-0 this season, but vs Wisła, everything they tried, succeeded. Gutkovskis scored his only goal in the first match of the season, and now he scored four in less than 40 minutes. What is remarkable, Raków's star Ivi López was not involved in any of seven goals of his team. They also did really well without him vs Lechia (3-0). They are not so dependent on him as they used to be, they are now stronger as a team. And next week they are going to play Zagłębie. This is a team which might concede another 7 goals vs Raków, the difference between the two is enormous at the moment.
Legia had advantage too, and won again despite losing 0-1. Widzew dominated Radomiak a lot, but conceded two goals by just letting their players run alone from their own half. In other matches, we had another beautiful goal, which is a trademark of the current season. Sometimes we think 'this or that goal has to be voted the goal of the season', but soon other candidates appear. This time Lukas Podolski vs Pogoń: https://streamable.com/k82zsa
This week, round of 16 in the cup will be played. Just to remind two exciting ties, it's Pogoń vs Raków and Lechia vs Legia.
League table
Results
Stal Mielec - Zagłębie Lubin 3:0
Piotr Wlazło 56' (penalty), Saïd Hamulic 75', Paweł Żyra 85'
Attendance: 4871
Legia Warszawa - Lechia Gdańsk 2:1
Dušan Kuciak 74' (own goal), Yuri Ribeiro 87' - Łukasz Zwoliński 57'
Attendance: 20 946
Piast Gliwice - Warta Poznań 0:2
Miguel Luís 31', Dimítris Stavrópoulos 80'
Attendance: 4235
Cracovia - Jagiellonia Białystok 1:0
Matej Rodin 77'
Attendance: 9628
Pogoń Szczecin - Górnik Zabrze 1:4
Luka Zahovič 42' - Aleksander Paluszek 5', Kanji Okunuki 53', Szymon Włodarczyk 56', Lukas Podolski 73'
Attendance: 19 615
Raków Częstochowa - Wisła Płock 7:1
Vladislavs Gutkovskis 3', 7', 37' (penalty), 41', Bartosz Nowak 60', Vladyslav Kochergin 88', 90'+1 - Davo 45'+2
Attendance: 5367
Miedź Legnica - Śląsk Wrocław 1:0
Chuca 41'
Attendance: 5418
Widzew Łódź - Radomiak Radom 1:3
Jordi Sánchez 50' - Mateusz Grzybek 2', Lisandro Semedo 27', Luís Machado 90'+1
Attendance: 17 442
Lech Poznań - Korona Kielce 3:2
Mikael Ishak 41' (penalty), João Amaral 47', Filip Szymczak 90'+3 - Jakub Łukowski 56' (penalty), Jacek Podgórski 79' (penalty)
Attendance: 12 745
Top scorers:
9 - Davo (Wisła Płock)
8 - Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
7 - Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
6 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk)
Some teams dominated a lot in their matches this weekend. Not all of them won though. Lech were close to drop points vs Korona, which would have been incredible. They had over 30 attempts and had everything under their control, but Korona got two penalties after VAR analysis. Then, there was a controversial call and Korona didn't get their third pen, although it was more clear for me than the first one. In this short period Korona played quite well, hit the post twice in a single opportunity, so it all could have ruined Lech's evening very quickly. Instead, Szymczak scored his first league goal and Lech are very close to top 3 now (and they have one match in hand, vs Miedź, to be played in January).
Performance of Raków was incredible. They won many matches 1-0 this season, but vs Wisła, everything they tried, succeeded. Gutkovskis scored his only goal in the first match of the season, and now he scored four in less than 40 minutes. What is remarkable, Raków's star Ivi López was not involved in any of seven goals of his team. They also did really well without him vs Lechia (3-0). They are not so dependent on him as they used to be, they are now stronger as a team. And next week they are going to play Zagłębie. This is a team which might concede another 7 goals vs Raków, the difference between the two is enormous at the moment.
Legia had advantage too, and won again despite losing 0-1. Widzew dominated Radomiak a lot, but conceded two goals by just letting their players run alone from their own half. In other matches, we had another beautiful goal, which is a trademark of the current season. Sometimes we think 'this or that goal has to be voted the goal of the season', but soon other candidates appear. This time Lukas Podolski vs Pogoń: https://streamable.com/k82zsa
This week, round of 16 in the cup will be played. Just to remind two exciting ties, it's Pogoń vs Raków and Lechia vs Legia.
According to the Greek media, or to be more precise, to sport24.gr portal (I have no idea how reliable source it is), Raków is going to pay a buy-clause for Strátos Svárnas which is €800k. Furthermore, AEK will get 20% from the next transfer. The loan period will end up on 30.06.2023.
Looks like he found a new football life in Poland.
Polish Cup round of 16 - results
KKS Kalisz - Górnik Zabrze 3:3, 5:3 on penalties
Górnik Łęczna - Piast Gliwice 1:0 AET
Lechia Gdańsk - Legia Warszawa 2:2, 2:4 on penalties
Motor Lublin - Wisła Kraków 1:0
Pogoń Szczecin - Raków Częstochowa 0:1
Sandecja Nowy Sącz - Śląsk Wrocław abandoned during PSO (2:2, pen 1:2)
Lechia Zielona Góra - Radomiak Radom 0:0, 3:1 on penalties
Pogoń Siedlce - Resovia 1:0
What is going on here. This is absolutely incredible. Five extra times and three penalty shootouts. There were six matches 'lover division vs higher division'. None of them was won by the higher ranked team. One could have been, but it wasn't finished. Details below.
Górnik Zabrze, Wisła and Radomiak disgraced themselves totally. Górnik were happy with extra time already, because they were 0-2 down and conceded 2-3 goal in the added time. However, they managed to equalize in the very last minute. Wisła were awful as always, and Radomiak had potentially the easiest task and one man advantage in the extra time. Piast continue their horrific streak as well.
From two Ekstraklasa ties, the one in Gdańsk was really exciting. Legia were much better (attempts 28-4), but scored only from penalty mark and then, in ET, a late equalizer by their defender. They were behind twice, but still managed not to lose, which they used to do in the league as well. For Raków, this time Ivi was 'back' and made the difference, as he scored the only goal from a direct free kick. Pogoń's keeper made another mistake and suddenly they have an enormous problem at this position. Probably this will be their another season without a trophy, as they are 12 points behind Raków in the league.
The craziest match was played in Niepołomice, where Sandecja play their home matches (their stadium is under construction). It was 1-1 after 90 minutes, then Śląsk scored a penalty in the extra time, but conceded in 120'+5 after a fatal back pass header. In the shootout, Sandecja's Maissa Fall felt racially insulted by away fans during his turn. He tried anyway and hit the post, then Sandecja players decided to come off the pitch. Śląsk were about to take their third penalty and be very close to win the shootout, but the match wasn't resumed. Now it's not clear what will happen. Standard racist protocol was not fulfilled, because the referee didn't introduce necessary three steps. Instead, players took the decision on their own (they argued with the ref before, to make it clear). So, technically speaking, Sandecja should lose it by forfeit, but it's not decided yet. We will have to wait until next week.
BTW, the date of quarter-finals draw is unknown. PZPN member wrote that there is no free date before the national team camp, so they will arrange it after the World Cup ('the later the better'). Then he deleted his tweet as there was a lot of criticism. Even considering national holiday tomorrow and the weekend, why not do it tonight after the last match? Or even on Monday at noon. It is really not that much work to prepare it and conduct the ceremony for 5-10 minutes. Ok, quarter-finals will be played in March, so the draw can wait. But it looks like they don't care about this competition at all, looking at match kick-off times, TV coverage and draw organization. Ekstraklasa teams don't help on the pitch as well.
So the line-up for the quarter-finals is as follows:
Ekstraklasa
Raków Częstochowa
Legia Warszawa
Ekstraklasa/I liga
Śląsk Wrocław/Sandecja Nowy Sącz
I liga
Górnik Łęczna
II liga
KKS Kalisz
Motor Lublin
Pogoń Siedlce
III liga
Lechia Zielona Góra
***
This week is full of events by the way. There is a match-fixing scandal in lower divisions, particularly in some groups of III liga. Usual motif, some strange large bets on Asian markets on specific events in these matches, which occurred indeed. Two players are already suspended by PZPN. Probably this might have something in common with Ukrainian players, coming here from lower divisions in this country, as they weren't able to fix their matches there. But many Polish players seem to be guilty too of course.
Apart from that, Lewandowski's bodyguard is revealed to be a criminal group member and a fascist propagator. On a day when the call-ups should be the main discussion point, we have some other topics active.
This weekend, last autumn matchday will be played. After that, we will have postponed match Lechia vs Górnik on Friday, 18 November.
KKS Kalisz - Górnik Zabrze 3:3, 5:3 on penalties
Górnik Łęczna - Piast Gliwice 1:0 AET
Lechia Gdańsk - Legia Warszawa 2:2, 2:4 on penalties
Motor Lublin - Wisła Kraków 1:0
Pogoń Szczecin - Raków Częstochowa 0:1
Sandecja Nowy Sącz - Śląsk Wrocław abandoned during PSO (2:2, pen 1:2)
Lechia Zielona Góra - Radomiak Radom 0:0, 3:1 on penalties
Pogoń Siedlce - Resovia 1:0
What is going on here. This is absolutely incredible. Five extra times and three penalty shootouts. There were six matches 'lover division vs higher division'. None of them was won by the higher ranked team. One could have been, but it wasn't finished. Details below.
Górnik Zabrze, Wisła and Radomiak disgraced themselves totally. Górnik were happy with extra time already, because they were 0-2 down and conceded 2-3 goal in the added time. However, they managed to equalize in the very last minute. Wisła were awful as always, and Radomiak had potentially the easiest task and one man advantage in the extra time. Piast continue their horrific streak as well.
From two Ekstraklasa ties, the one in Gdańsk was really exciting. Legia were much better (attempts 28-4), but scored only from penalty mark and then, in ET, a late equalizer by their defender. They were behind twice, but still managed not to lose, which they used to do in the league as well. For Raków, this time Ivi was 'back' and made the difference, as he scored the only goal from a direct free kick. Pogoń's keeper made another mistake and suddenly they have an enormous problem at this position. Probably this will be their another season without a trophy, as they are 12 points behind Raków in the league.
The craziest match was played in Niepołomice, where Sandecja play their home matches (their stadium is under construction). It was 1-1 after 90 minutes, then Śląsk scored a penalty in the extra time, but conceded in 120'+5 after a fatal back pass header. In the shootout, Sandecja's Maissa Fall felt racially insulted by away fans during his turn. He tried anyway and hit the post, then Sandecja players decided to come off the pitch. Śląsk were about to take their third penalty and be very close to win the shootout, but the match wasn't resumed. Now it's not clear what will happen. Standard racist protocol was not fulfilled, because the referee didn't introduce necessary three steps. Instead, players took the decision on their own (they argued with the ref before, to make it clear). So, technically speaking, Sandecja should lose it by forfeit, but it's not decided yet. We will have to wait until next week.
BTW, the date of quarter-finals draw is unknown. PZPN member wrote that there is no free date before the national team camp, so they will arrange it after the World Cup ('the later the better'). Then he deleted his tweet as there was a lot of criticism. Even considering national holiday tomorrow and the weekend, why not do it tonight after the last match? Or even on Monday at noon. It is really not that much work to prepare it and conduct the ceremony for 5-10 minutes. Ok, quarter-finals will be played in March, so the draw can wait. But it looks like they don't care about this competition at all, looking at match kick-off times, TV coverage and draw organization. Ekstraklasa teams don't help on the pitch as well.
So the line-up for the quarter-finals is as follows:
Ekstraklasa
Raków Częstochowa
Legia Warszawa
Ekstraklasa/I liga
Śląsk Wrocław/Sandecja Nowy Sącz
I liga
Górnik Łęczna
II liga
KKS Kalisz
Motor Lublin
Pogoń Siedlce
III liga
Lechia Zielona Góra
***
This week is full of events by the way. There is a match-fixing scandal in lower divisions, particularly in some groups of III liga. Usual motif, some strange large bets on Asian markets on specific events in these matches, which occurred indeed. Two players are already suspended by PZPN. Probably this might have something in common with Ukrainian players, coming here from lower divisions in this country, as they weren't able to fix their matches there. But many Polish players seem to be guilty too of course.
Apart from that, Lewandowski's bodyguard is revealed to be a criminal group member and a fascist propagator. On a day when the call-ups should be the main discussion point, we have some other topics active.
This weekend, last autumn matchday will be played. After that, we will have postponed match Lechia vs Górnik on Friday, 18 November.
Not a good sign before the next edition of the European Cups. Ekstraklasa clubs struggling against poor opposition. I don't see a big difference between a Polish 2nd/3rd tier club and a club from lower ranked European countries which will qualify for Europe.Juliusz wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 20:47
What is going on here. This is absolutely incredible. Five extra times and three penalty shootouts. There were six matches 'lover division vs higher division'. None of them was won by the higher ranked team. One could have been, but it wasn't finished. Details below.
As for now I would like to see in Europe
Raków, Legia and Lech. I believe they are one level above the rest, or in case of Raków - more than just a one level. Still plenty of time remaining though, a lot of things may happen. Jacek Zieliński, who is a sports director in Legia, said in an interview that the transfer budget this Winter will be €0. It means that there will be no cash transfers in to Legia, unless the club will "sell" some player/s. It would be quite easy to earn some decent money for Tobiasz and Nawrocki, but Zieliński said Legia wants to keep both at least until the end of the season as their market value should be rising.
Matchday 17
League table
Results
Warta Poznań - Stal Mielec 1:1
Jan Grzesik 90'+3 - Saïd Hamulic 66'
Attendance: 2466
Wisła Płock - Cracovia 1:0
Rafał Wolski 66'
Attendance: 4197
Korona Kielce - Widzew Łódź 0:1
Mato Miloš 90'+1
Attendance: 9385
Górnik Zabrze - Miedź Legnica 0:3
Luciano Narsingh 34', Szymon Matuszek 40', Chuca 73'
Attendance: 15 723
Jagiellonia Białystok - Lech Poznań 1:2
Mateusz Skrzypczak 45'+1 - Mikael Ishak 45'+6, Filip Szymczak 90'+1
Attendance: 10 167
Zagłębie Lubin - Raków Częstochowa 1:2
Kacper Chodyna 88' (penalty) - Deian Sorescu 18', Strátos Svárnas 28'
Attendance: 4658
Radomiak Radom - Pogoń Szczecin 1:2
Mateusz Grzybek 69' - Kamil Grosicki 52' (penalty), Damian Dąbrowski 90'
Attendance: 3406
Lechia Gdańsk - Piast Gliwice 1:3
Michał Nalepa 86' - Dušan Kuciak 43' (own goal), Patryk Dziczek 63' (penalty), Michał Chrapek 90'+7
Attendance: 7102
Śląsk Wrocław - Legia Warszawa 0:0
Attendance: 21 947
Top scorers:
9 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
8 - Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
6 - Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk), Rafał Wolski (Wisła Płock)
Zagłębie finally scored
Nothing to celebrate though. They lost vs Raków anyway. In the first half, the guests were much better, but Zagłębie could have even equalized in the second period. However, Raków won 7th league game in a row and are clear leaders at the end of the calendar year.
Legia could have been still 7 points behind Raków, but Josué missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed after a VAR review. Śląsk had some dangerous opportunities too, so a draw is not a bad result either. Legia were predicted to be a mid-table team or even fight against the relegation this season, so being second in the league and still active in the cup is some sort of an achievement for this team.
Lech won again in final minutes. Similarly as Legia, they ended their curse in Białystok. Pogoń and Widzew scored late winners too, and Stal lost points in the last minute, although they didn't deserve a win anyway.
At the bottom, Miedź are still alive. They won both their last matches and can still hope to stay in the league. They have one more game to be played, but it will take place next year vs Lech. Lechia lost an important match vs Piast and had exactly the same bad luck as vs Legia. Keeper Kuciak scored an identical own goal, the ball hit the bar and his back to cross the goal line. Now Lechia have to win the last match of the year, which will take place on 18 November vs Górnik, if they don't want to spend winter in relegation zone.
I liga
This was also the last weekend with I liga this year. Standings below.
League table
Results
Warta Poznań - Stal Mielec 1:1
Jan Grzesik 90'+3 - Saïd Hamulic 66'
Attendance: 2466
Wisła Płock - Cracovia 1:0
Rafał Wolski 66'
Attendance: 4197
Korona Kielce - Widzew Łódź 0:1
Mato Miloš 90'+1
Attendance: 9385
Górnik Zabrze - Miedź Legnica 0:3
Luciano Narsingh 34', Szymon Matuszek 40', Chuca 73'
Attendance: 15 723
Jagiellonia Białystok - Lech Poznań 1:2
Mateusz Skrzypczak 45'+1 - Mikael Ishak 45'+6, Filip Szymczak 90'+1
Attendance: 10 167
Zagłębie Lubin - Raków Częstochowa 1:2
Kacper Chodyna 88' (penalty) - Deian Sorescu 18', Strátos Svárnas 28'
Attendance: 4658
Radomiak Radom - Pogoń Szczecin 1:2
Mateusz Grzybek 69' - Kamil Grosicki 52' (penalty), Damian Dąbrowski 90'
Attendance: 3406
Lechia Gdańsk - Piast Gliwice 1:3
Michał Nalepa 86' - Dušan Kuciak 43' (own goal), Patryk Dziczek 63' (penalty), Michał Chrapek 90'+7
Attendance: 7102
Śląsk Wrocław - Legia Warszawa 0:0
Attendance: 21 947
Top scorers:
9 - Davo (Wisła Płock), Saïd Hamulic (Stal Mielec)
8 - Marc Gual, Jesús Imaz (both Jagiellonia Białystok)
7 - Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań), Jakub Łukowski (Korona Kielce), Bartosz Nowak (Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa), Szymon Włodarczyk (Górnik Zabrze)
6 - Ángelo Henríquez (Miedź Legnica), Flávio Paixão (Lechia Gdańsk), Rafał Wolski (Wisła Płock)
Zagłębie finally scored
Nothing to celebrate though. They lost vs Raków anyway. In the first half, the guests were much better, but Zagłębie could have even equalized in the second period. However, Raków won 7th league game in a row and are clear leaders at the end of the calendar year.Legia could have been still 7 points behind Raków, but Josué missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed after a VAR review. Śląsk had some dangerous opportunities too, so a draw is not a bad result either. Legia were predicted to be a mid-table team or even fight against the relegation this season, so being second in the league and still active in the cup is some sort of an achievement for this team.
Lech won again in final minutes. Similarly as Legia, they ended their curse in Białystok. Pogoń and Widzew scored late winners too, and Stal lost points in the last minute, although they didn't deserve a win anyway.
At the bottom, Miedź are still alive. They won both their last matches and can still hope to stay in the league. They have one more game to be played, but it will take place next year vs Lech. Lechia lost an important match vs Piast and had exactly the same bad luck as vs Legia. Keeper Kuciak scored an identical own goal, the ball hit the bar and his back to cross the goal line. Now Lechia have to win the last match of the year, which will take place on 18 November vs Górnik, if they don't want to spend winter in relegation zone.
I liga
This was also the last weekend with I liga this year. Standings below.
The fact that there is no Legia player among 12 top scorers in the league speaks for itself. Since it is hard to expect some miracles in the winter transfer window, I hope that Carlitos will finally start scoring according to the expectations. Rosołek is not good enough for Legia, at least for now. Even Josue, who is a playmaker in the team, is much more dangerous in terms of scoring goals. I had some doubts regarding Josue before the start of the season, but now I have to admit that he is a true team leader and fully deserves to be the captain. Better not to think where Legia currently would be in the table without him. Runjaić is doing a great job in Legia, I hope he will be a manager for years, after numerous rotations by the club since very long time.
Basing on the team potential Legia has this seasons, as well as financial difficulties the club recently experience, I would rate this round at solid "5" in a 1-6 school scale (Polish school scale, not German).
Basing on the team potential Legia has this seasons, as well as financial difficulties the club recently experience, I would rate this round at solid "5" in a 1-6 school scale (Polish school scale, not German).