Jagiellonia lose 0-3 to Anderlecht, Lech draw with Sunderland as Boniek criticises both sides

Thursday evening in European club competition was not a happy one for Polish fans. Lech Poznań picked up their first point in the competition, drawing 1-1 with England's Sunderland AFC. Later, Jagiellonia Białystok lost heavily, 0-3, to Belgium's RSC Anderlecht.

Jagiellonia without an answer

According to a report by Sportowe Fakty, Adrian Siemieniec's side had little to offer against Anderlecht and played poorly. The match had been seen beforehand as a chance to fight for a win, but it was the Belgians who dominated the hosts.

Zbigniew Boniek, a former president of the Polish Football Association, commented on the match for Polsat Sport. He said: "Jagiellonia disappointed me terribly." In his view, the problem was the way the team played: for the first hour the side from Białystok did not attack at all and defended in a 1-5-4-1 shape, without pressing.

Boniek also judged that Anderlecht, whom he called an average team, created no chances during that time. The exception was passes to the left towards their attack-minded left-back, Reabciuk. Jagiellonia, he said, failed to learn from this and left him unmarked.

Lech: a draw, but also criticism

Lech Poznań drew 1-1 with Sunderland. The visitors dominated the first half and scored as early as the 2nd minute. Lech did create chances of their own, though, so the report suggests the draw was not undeserved.

Boniek nevertheless criticised Lech for simple mistakes that lead to goals, especially in European competition. He pointed to the previous match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen as an example. He called the goal conceded in the 2nd minute against Sunderland a "criminal" error, and expressed disbelief at Lis's poor pass to a defender. He added that Lech want to build from the back at all costs, and that so far it is working against them.

What this means for you

Lech's match against Sunderland is a rare chance to see a Polish club face an English side in European competition. The 1-1 result gives the Poznań team their first point at this stage of the competition.