Lozano's 85th-minute winner lifts Jagiellonia past Motor Lublin 2-1 in action-packed Ekstraklasa contest
A sold-out Arena Lublin saw Motor equalise in the 83rd minute only for Sergio Lozano to restore Jagiellonia's lead two minutes later, sealing a 2-1 away win that puts the champions top of the table with six points from two games.
A frantic start
Both sides traded early blows in a match that delivered on its attacking promise within the opening minutes. Kajetan Szmyt's third-minute cross-shot looped onto the post for Jagiellonia, and moments later Yuki Kobayashi headed a corner narrowly wide. Motor answered when Karol Czubak found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Sławomir Abramowicz, who parried the shot, and Mbaye Jacques N'Diaye's acrobatic follow-up was cleared off the line by Kobayashi himself.
Prelec opens the scoring
The deadlock was broken in the 33rd minute. A threaded pass from Bernardo Vital found Jesús Imaz, who teed up Nik Prelec at the edge of the box; the Slovenian forward drilled a low finish beyond Mihai Popa for his second goal in as many Ekstraklasa appearances. Jagiellonia could have doubled the lead before the interval when Popa instinctively denied Lozano's fierce drive and Prelec nodded the rebound over the bar.
- Szmyt cross-shot hits the post for Jagiellonia.
- Czubak denied by Abramowicz; N'Diaye's rebound cleared off the line.
- Nik Prelec scores from the edge of the box to give Jagiellonia a 1-0 lead.
- Popa saves Lozano shot, Prelec rebound goes over.
- Karol Czubak equalises for Motor, converting N'Diaye's knockdown.
- Sergio Lozano drills in the winner from 20 metres after Szmyt's assist.
Motor's second-half pressure
Motor returned with heavy pressure after the break. Czubak headed just past the post in the 49th minute, and N'Diaye's low strike four minutes later forced another sharp save from Abramowicz. The goalkeeper produced further stops against Czubak and Mateusz Łęgowski as the hosts piled forward, outshooting the visitors 21 to 13 over the 90 minutes.
Late twist and Lozano's winner
The home side's persistence paid off in the 83rd minute when a left-wing delivery from Makan Aiko was nodded down by N'Diaye for Czubak to stab home from close range. The equaliser ignited the crowd, but the celebrations had barely subsided when Jagiellonia struck back. Szmyt supplied Lozano, who from around 20 metres drove a precise finish past Popa to reclaim the lead and silence the hosts.
Reactions from the benches
Both coaches praised the spectacle while drawing different lessons. Motor's Mariusz Misiura called the sequence a teaching moment.
For us it's a good lesson: when you equalise in the final minutes after heavy efforts, you cannot allow that point to slip away. We lacked a bit of calm, of calculation, to respect that point and look for a chance to make it 2-1.
Jagiellonia's Adrian Siemieniec acknowledged the contest was in the balance before his team's decisive quality showed.
A very interesting, lively match, a lot happened. After the equaliser the mental advantage was with the home side, but the individual quality of my players meant we seized that one moment, then held on with sacrifice and defending the box.
