After netting three goals in the Superpuchar and four against Aarhus, Lech Poznań failed to score for the first time this season, managing only a handful of chances and no clear breakthrough across 90 minutes.
Referee Damian Sylwestrzak issued goalkeeper Mateusz Lis a red card in the 54th minute for handling outside the box, but the decision was overturned after VAR showed the ball was on the line when Lis grabbed it.
Cracovia coach Bartosz Grzelak extended his unbeaten but winless league run to six matches dating back to the end of the 2025-26 season, when he took over in late April and recorded five consecutive draws.
Lech Poznań began their title defence in the 100th season of the Polish top flight with a goalless stalemate against Cracovia, a result that contrasted sharply with their recent high-scoring form. The champions entered the match after a 3-1 Superpuchar Polski win over Górnik Zabrze and a 4-1 away victory at Aarhus GF in Champions League qualifying, yet could not break down a disciplined Cracovia side that arrived with a clear defensive plan.
Head coach Niels Frederiksen made three changes from the Aarhus win: Robert Gumny replaced Joel Pereira at right-back, Filip Jagiełło came in for Radosław Murawski in midfield, and Leo Bengtsson started on the left instead of Luis Palma. The reshuffled attack struggled. Lech held possession but generated little threat, with their best first-half moment arriving in the 23rd minute when Sebastian Madejski parried a fierce Bengtsson strike and Mikael Ishak blazed the rebound wide.
Cracovia, set up by coach Bartosz Grzelak in a compact 4-4-2 block, conceded space but few clear openings. They carried threat on the break and almost took the lead in the 31st minute when Antoni Kozubal threw himself in front of an Ajdin Hasić shot from 12 metres to block what looked like a certain goal.
The flashpoint came in the 54th minute. Referee Damian Sylwestrzak showed Lech goalkeeper Mateusz Lis a straight red card for handling the ball outside his penalty area. After a VAR review, the decision was reversed: replays showed Lis had gathered the ball on the line, meaning the handball was legal and play restarted without sanction.
Both sides still could have snatched victory late. In the 90th minute, Cracovia produced their only shot on target when Gustav Henriksson headed from five metres, forcing Lis into a straightforward catch. At the other end, Madejski tipped over a fierce Radosław Murawski drive from distance.
Grzelak took charge of Cracovia in late April 2026 and preserved their top-flight status, but has yet to record a league win. His record now stands at six draws from six Ekstraklasa matches: five at the end of the previous campaign plus this stalemate in Poznań. He fielded no summer signings in his starting eleven against Lech, relying on players who completed pre-season under his supervision.
For Lech, the performance drew unflattering comparisons with the opening round of the 2025-26 season, when Cracovia won 4-1 at the same stadium. That defeat was part of a shaky start under Frederiksen, who admitted afterwards that excessive rotation had hurt the side. This time the changes were limited to three, but the attacking fluency seen against Aarhus vanished.
Lech travel to newly promoted Wieczysta Kraków for their next fixture, a club making its first-ever home appearance in the PKO BP Ekstraklasa. Cracovia host Pogoń Szczecin. Both matches fall in round two of the league's centenary season.
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Polish champions Lech Poznań started the 100th Ekstraklasa season with a 0-0 home draw against Cracovia on Saturday, failing to convert possession into goals at Stadion Miejski.
AI text based on reports by Głos Wielkopolski, TVN24.pl, Gazeta Krakowska and other publishers. Published .