Legia Warszawa dealt a blow to Shakhtar Donetsk. A wonderful goal and a scandal in the background

A match played in Krakow, in which the host team is not a Polish team? This is quite an unusual situation, especially considering that a team that normally plays in PKO BP Ekstraklasa appeared on the pitch. However, Legia Warszawa faced Shakhtar Donetsk. A club that hosts its opponents at the Wisła Kraków stadium, playing in the UEFA Conference League.

A huge storm around the “We remember Volhynia” flag. Rafał Augustyniak’s show

Before the match even started, things were already starting to heat up, judging by the reports from outside the stadium. It turned out that the head of Shakhtar’s security, a Ukrainian, did not agree to raise a flag of Legia fans with the slogan “We remember Volhynia”. This resulted in clear opposition, which we wrote about before the meeting, and then a large response, including: on social media.

Finally, Legia fans, in a group of about 1.5 thousand, appeared in the stands in the 30th minute of the first half of the match. The inhabitants of Warsaw received permission to raise the flag, and after the support of the representatives of Wisła Kraków, the daily host of the facility, the flag was even hung out for a few minutes in the second part.

As for the events on the field, although Legia was not a hundred percent favorite, it could certainly count on success – considering – that it is no longer the gigantic Shakhtar from years ago, doing well, for example, in the Champions League.

On the other hand, the Warsaw club also has its problems – especially in the context of the position of coach Edward Iordanescu. The Romanian seems to have no particular desire to continue his mission in Warsaw. On Thursday evening, he sat on the bench in Krakow, but is this the end of speculation regarding his future in Poland? It doesn’t seem so.

Rafał Augustyniak became Legia’s hero. The midfielder, who was the captain of the team, scored two goals, one must admit – one nicer than the other. First, he dropped the score in the first half to make it 1-0.

When it seemed that it would ultimately end with the division of points (1:1), Legia once again gained the wind in its sails. The second part was not perfect for the Warsaw team, Shakhtar was able to take the initiative, but the last dozen or so minutes of Legia were a real show-off and a show of great willingness to decide the fate of the competition in their favor.

This was achieved after a goal by the above-mentioned Augustyniak, this time directly from a free kick. The ball was placed almost on the line of the penalty area, and the opportunity was created by good pressing and the activity of the very young Jakub Żewłakow. The son of Michał, a distinguished former Polish representative, currently the director of Legia.

It’s quite paradoxical, but Legia – it would seem – in a really big image crisis, responded on the pitch. And in solid style. The three points won against Shakhtar in Krakow are important. Maybe they will be a turning point in the current season? We will probably find out about this soon.