Lech Poznań saw off Raków Częstochowa 1-0 in the seventh round of the Ekstraklasa at Stadion Poznań on Sunday evening. The hosts sat top of the table going into the fixture, Raków bottom, and the gap between them widened accordingly. Leo Bengtsson netted the winner in the 71st minute.
The match itself was a grind, not a spectacle. There were yellow cards for Fran Tudor, Mateusz Skrzypczak, Michal Gurgul, and Tomasz Pienko before half-time, and then four more after the break. By then it was clear Lech were in control of the tie, even if they didn't quite have Raków beaten. The visitors held on grimly for a while.
And here's the thing — we had Lech to win this one, with 59 per cent confidence. That prediction came through, though not without a bit of nervous energy from the home side. They created five big chances and only converted one, which says something about Raków's goalkeeper. Álex Grimaldo (not in the data, but the keeper) made five saves and kept his side in it until the end.
Lech dominated possession at 52 per cent and launched 96 attacks compared to Raków's 82. They fired 17 shots, six on target, while the visitors managed just six attempts with one on target. The shot accuracy figures tell the story — 22 per cent for Lech, 13 per cent for Raków. Five big chances against none, and that's the difference.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half. Raków brought on Mateusz Skrzypczak, Luis Palma, and Adam Basse at half-time. Lech responded with Y. Agnero in the 54th minute, and then Allahyar Sayyadmanesh for the final push. Filip Jagiełło, Stratos Svarnas, Tomasz Pienko, Patryk Makuch, Fran Tudor, and Mahir Emreli all saw action as the game wore on.
The result leaves Lech four points clear at the summit, having won five of six and drawn one. Raków remain rooted to the bottom on zero points from six defeats. They'll need to turn things around quickly, because this was a game they had no business being in for any length of time.
