Vladyslav Lupashko after Polonia vs Lechia

Lechia Gdańsk defeated Polonia Warsaw 4-2 away from home to claim their second consecutive victory. After the match, head coach Vladyslav Lupashko reflected on the White and Greens’ performance.

On the match against Polonia:

Polonia are a very good team. It is not easy to play against them, to attack and press them, because they defend with a large number of players. They are also capable of transitioning effectively from defence to attack and vice versa. We, on the other hand, are getting a better understanding of how we want to play. We are still getting to know each other because new players continue to join us. They are learning our requirements, while we are learning more about them.

Camilo Mena was one of the standout performers in the match. Lupashko stressed that the coaching staff want to give their attacking players freedom and the opportunity to showcase their individual qualities:

When we arrived at the Club, we said that we wanted to put on a show on the pitch. We want a lot of fans to come to our matches. When we were children watching football, these were the kind of players who excited us. We give our players freedom and want them to show their individual quality and creativity in attack.

Tomasz Neugebauer was forced to leave the pitch early, while Hristo Ivanov made his debut:

Tomek was experiencing muscle pain and we did not want to take any risks. Hristo is a good player, so we had no concerns about making that change. It was his first match and I think his performance was very promising.

Kacper Łopata made his first appearance in the White and Green colours:

Kacper had only trained with us for three days. We knew that he was not yet fully prepared physically, but he is a very good player. We will gradually increase his workload and prepare him to play full matches. We also have to remember that we played on a pitch that was not in the best condition, which contributed to several muscular problems within the team.

The White and Greens now face a series of matches in quick succession. The coaching staff had already prepared a plan for managing the players’ minutes, although events during the match in Warsaw may require some adjustments:

We planned the players’ minutes with three matches in mind. We still do not have all the options available to us when it comes to selecting the team, and this match forced us to make some adjustments. We will fight in the upcoming matches while also taking care of the players’ health.

The coach did not want to single out one player as having the biggest impact on the victory. Instead, he emphasised the importance of the entire team’s work, both in attack and defence:

There were many key players. Polonia were very active in our defensive third and had a lot of corners, so our defenders also did a very important job. Shakh, Mena and Dodaj, as well as our centre-backs, were all important in terms of occupying and controlling the right spaces. When the team is united, we can produce performances like this one.