Lech held by Cracovia as long home run without 0-0 ends

Lech Poznań began the new PKO BP Ekstraklasa campaign with a frustrating goalless draw at home to Cracovia, a result made more striking by the volume of chances the champions created. Lech finished with 18 shots but could not find a way past Sebastian Madejski, and the stalemate marked their first 0-0 in Poznań for more than two years.

Lech started slowly before creating the clearer openings

There was a notable sense of expectation around the opening-round meeting, not least because these sides had also faced each other in Poznań at the start of the previous season. Lech, now the reigning Polish champions, were the clear favourites, but they took time to settle into the match.

The home side’s first real threat arrived from a set-piece. After a delivery from the right, Patrik Walemark met the ball with a header from close range, only to send it narrowly wide. Soon after, Leo Bengtsson tested Madejski from outside the box, and when the goalkeeper pushed the effort away, Mikael Ishak could not keep his follow-up down from inside the area.

By the interval, Lech had produced the only shots on target of the first half, but the breakthrough still would not come.

Cracovia stayed in the contest and nearly punished Lech

Cracovia’s threat was more limited before the break, though they did carve out one dangerous counterattack. Ajdin Hasić got into a promising shooting position, only for Antoni Kozubal to make an important sliding block and preserve parity.

The game then produced a major flashpoint early in the second half when Mateusz Lis was shown a red card by referee Damian Sylwestrzak for an alleged handball outside the penalty area. After a VAR review, however, the decision was overturned, allowing Lech’s goalkeeper to remain on the pitch.

That moment could have changed the entire complexion of the contest. Instead, it became another episode in a match that repeatedly hinted at drama without ever delivering a goal.

Changes brought momentum, but not the finish Lech needed

Lech looked to inject energy into their performance with a triple substitution that brought on Joel Pereira, Luis Palma and Radosław Murawski. The hosts pushed harder from that point, spending long spells on the front foot and continuing to generate opportunities.

Yet the pattern remained the same. Either the finishing lacked precision, or Madejski was equal to the task. For all of Lech’s territorial control and attacking intent, the final touch was missing.

Cracovia almost stole the points late on with their first shot on target of the second half. After another delivery from the right by Hasić, Gustav Henriksson met the cross with a header from close range, but Lis was in the right place to make the save.

A rare scoreline in Poznań

In the end, the match finished without a goal, an unusual outcome for Lech on home soil. According to the source material, the last time they played out a 0-0 in Poznań was in February 2024 against Śląsk Wrocław.

For Lech, the draw leaves a sense of opportunity missed rather than outright alarm. The champions created enough to win, but their lack of cutting edge turned a promising opening fixture into a frustrating one. Cracovia, meanwhile, will take encouragement from a disciplined away display and a point earned against one of the division’s strongest sides.

Lech now turn their attention to a home meeting with Danish club Aarhus in the return leg of Champions League qualifying, before a league trip to Wieczysta Kraków. Cracovia’s next Ekstraklasa assignment is at home to Pogoń Szczecin.