Śląsk Wrocław and ten-man Widzew Łódź draw 3:3 after late Shabani equalizer
Śląsk Wrocław recovered from a two-goal deficit to secure a 3:3 home draw against ten-man Widzew Łódź on Saturday in the fifth round of the Ekstraklasa.
Early dismissal and first-half lead
Śląsk Wrocław and Widzew Łódź played out a 3:3 draw in the fifth round of the 2026/2027 PKO BP Ekstraklasa season in Wrocław on Saturday. Śląsk entered the fixture in 13th place with four points from four matches, sitting one point above the relegation zone, while Widzew aimed to build on their form after avoiding relegation in the previous season and signing forward Karol Świderski. The match shifted early when Widzew defender Przemysław Wiśniewski received a straight red card in the seventh minute. Referee Marcin Kochanek consulted the video assistant referee before sending Wiśniewski off for tripping Malaly Dembele on a direct run toward goal. In response to the dismissal, Widzew manager Aleksandar Vuković substituted winger Mariusz Fornalczyk for defender Mateusz Żyro.
Despite playing with ten men, Widzew opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Śląsk midfielder Grzegorz Tomasiewicz lost possession outside his penalty area, allowing Widzew to break forward; goalkeeper Karol Niemczycki parried the initial strike, but Mario Garcia scored on the rebound. Widzew continued to threaten, with Juljan Shehu testing Niemczycki in the 30th minute after a pass from Angel Baena. Six minutes later, Shehu delivered a through pass to Świderski, who crossed from the byline for Fran Alvarez to finish, giving the visitors a 2:0 lead. Śląsk manager Ante Simundza reacted before half-time by substituting Jorge Yriarte for Eniss Shabani, as the home side finished the first half without a single shot on target.
Second-half exchanges
Śląsk cut the deficit two minutes into the second half. Following a corner kick in the 47th minute, a scramble in the penalty area involving Sebastian Bergier and Luka Marjanac resulted in the ball deflecting off Widzew defender Steve Kapuadi for an own goal past goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski. The visitors responded in the 63rd minute on a counter-attack. Garcia advanced to the byline and crossed into the penalty box for an unmarked Baena, who drove a shot into the top corner of the net to make the score 3:1 in favor of Widzew.
- Przemysław Wiśniewski is sent off with a direct red card after VAR review
- Mario Garcia scores the opening goal on a rebound for Widzew (0:1)
- Fran Alvarez converts Karol Świderski's cross to extend Widzew's lead (0:2)
- Steve Kapuadi deflects the ball into his own net to reduce the deficit for Śląsk (1:2)
- Angel Baena scores from Mario Garcia's cross to restore Widzew's cushion (1:3)
- Przemysław Banaszak headers in Piotr Samiec-Talar's corner delivery (2:3)
- Luka Marjanac's goal for Śląsk is disallowed by VAR due to offside
- Eniss Shabani scores an equalizing diving header from Piotr Samiec-Talar's cross (3:3)
Late equalizer and final outcome
Śląsk increased their attacking pressure through set pieces during the closing stages. In the 78th minute, Piotr Samiec-Talar delivered a cross following a corner kick, which Przemysław Banaszak converted with an unmarked header to make it 2:3. Six minutes later, in the 84th minute, Marjanac put the ball into the net for Śląsk, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review confirmed an offside position.
The home side found the equalizer in the 89th minute. Samiec-Talar supplied another cross into the penalty area, where substitute Shabani connected with a diving header to level the match at 3:3. Yellow cards were issued to Tomasiewicz, Shabani, and Michał Rosiak for Śląsk, while Kapuadi, Lindon Selahi, and Żyro were booked for Widzew. The result preserved Śląsk's unbeaten home record and kept Widzew without an away defeat in the fifth round of the league campaign.
