Legia Warszawa did not perform a miracle! Madness at the finish of the Ekstraklasa

It must be openly admitted that the events in the PKO BP Ekstraklasa in the 2025/26 season have long gone beyond logical control. The main point is that the table was extremely flat until the last round, which made virtually every scenario possible.

For this reason, on Saturday (i.e. May 23), the last league game of the current campaign, the fight was for almost everything that was possible. Almost, because the most important decision was made a few days earlier – thanks to Lech Poznań. The Polish champion defended his title from a year ago, hence the celebration at the stadium at Bułgarska Street in the capital of Greater Poland was perfect.

Legia Warszawa without promotion to European cups! Sadness in Gdańsk

Let’s start at the bottom of the table. There it became clear that the previously relegated Arka Gdynia was joined by another club from the Tricity – Lechia Gdańsk. Interestingly, in both cases, the decisive blows were dealt by… the last team in the standings, Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. The win in Gdynia was improved with a full set of points on home soil, as a farewell to the elite.

Nieciecza was already leading 2-0 until the break. In the second half, they kept the lead, thanks to which Lechia said goodbye to the Ekstraklasa. And the words of Kacper Sezonienko, a player of the Tri-City club – after the first 45 minutes – perfectly reflect how the guests presented themselves in a match that was about everything for them.

Actually, everyone except Lechia was happy with the victory of the hosts in Nieciecza. The rest of the team had comfort in their matches, including those most at risk of relegation – Widzew Łódź, Piast Gliwice and Cracovia.

The first two teams met in Łódź, where RTS sealed the relegation, winning three points. The highlight of the match was a goal scored by Mariusz Fornalczyk. Although the guests from Gliwice also cannot be denied an ambitious fight to the very end to extract something more from the extremely difficult Widzew area.

The winner of the Polish Cup a dozen or so days ago, Górnik Zabrze, became the Polish runner-up. Zabrze played a concert at their stadium, demolishing Radomiak and bringing a lot of joy, among others. the new owner of the club. And it just so happens that it was Lukas Podolski – appearing on the pitch in the second half, in his last official appearance.

Let us add that Górnik, finishing the competition in second place, secured participation in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

In the context of recent months, a lot of praise can be directed at Legia Warszawa – apart from the leading teams – which are the most interested. Coach Marek Papszun performed a miracle. The Legionnaires escaped from the relegation zone after a few weeks – previously wintering with the prospect of impending relegation – and in the last league round they almost secured… a place in the European cups!

Legia defeated Motor Lublin very confidently at home, 4-0. The Lublin team could only idly watch the performances of the team, which had clearly regained its joy and idea for its game.

Coach Papszun confirmed that he is a top-class professional. He organized the team as best he could, and the perspective of the new season in Warsaw looks completely different.

Let us note that Kacper Tobiasz appeared on the pitch in the last minutes and was given a chance to say a symbolic farewell to the club. The experienced Artur Jędrzejczyk also appeared on the pitch. In the case of the latter, however, there was no information about the future of the former Polish representative.

However, the Legionnaires lost their place in the European cups (qualifications for the Conference League) thanks to a goal in extra time in Szczecin. The local Pogoń led against GKS Katowice 1-0 for a long time, but eventually lost the lead. The goal was scored by Marcel Wędrychowski.

And what did this mean in practice? GKS returns to play in European cups after over two decades of break. The Katowice team took advantage of the fact that Krzysztof Kamiński, the opponent’s goalkeeper, was sent off the pitch at the very end for a red card. An outfield player had to step between the posts, because Pogoń… used all possible changes.

The rivals were able to take advantage of the opponents’ sequence of misfortunes.

GKS thus snatched Legia’s European pass at the very end.