Friendly: Lech Poznań 3-1 FK Železiarne Podbrezová

The reigning Polish Champions arrived in Wronki at the start of the week to begin another intensive pre-season training camp. Just like the previous summers, head coach Niels Frederiksen's side is using the club's training base to prepare for the new campaign, with two friendlies scheduled before next Sunday's Polish Super Cup clash against Górnik Zabrze. Each match concludes a training microcycle completed at the Research and Development Centre.

The coaching staff fielded two entirely different starting XIs in each half. Alex Douglas, Patrik Wålemark, João Moutinho, and Luis Palma were not involved and instead completed individual training sessions earlier in the day. However, none of the quartet is dealing with a serious injury, and all are expected to rejoin the rest of the squad for training next week.

Lech made a confident start against the team that finished sixth in the Slovak top flight last season, quickly taking control of possession and dictating the tempo. Their first clear goal-scoring opportunity came after ten minutes when Filip Jagiełło got himself into a shooting position inside the box, but Martin Trnovsky intervened successfully. The guests responded shortly afterwards, although the newly-signed goalkeeper Mateusz Lis also didn’t make a mistake.

The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute and was thoroughly deserved. Wojciech Mońka's pass into the penalty area was cleverly dummied by Karol Delikat, allowing Tymoteusz Gmur to collect the ball on the left. The 17-year-old cut inside, beat the defender, and fired a shot which was slightly deflected before falling into the net. It was an impressive piece of individual skill from the Lech Academy graduate. The hosts continued to look dangerous for the remainder of the first half, with plenty of attacking attempts, while the defence dealt calmly and confidently with everything Podbrezová had to offer.

Despite a complete change of line-up during the break, Lech maintained their dominance after half-time. Daniel Håkans created the first opportunity of the second period in the 52nd minute, lifting his head before delivering a precise cross towards Yannick Agnero, whose volley was narrowly off target. Moments later, Pablo Rodríguez produced another impressive move, beginning an attacking combination before finishing it himself with a powerful effort from distance that flew on the wrong side of the post.

The second goal arrived just before the hour mark following another great move. Piotr Bartczak switched play brilliantly to the right, Joel Pereira waited for Sammy Dudek to overlap him before sending him the ball, and the Lech homegrown player curled a superb strike into the net from the edge of the penalty area to double the hosts' advantage. Podbrezová reduced the deficit only two minutes later, converting from close range.

The pace of the game slowed in the closing minutes, but Frederiksen's men still found time to add a third goal. Agnero won possession high up the pitch, and Pablo Rodríguez rounded off the move, confidently finishing one-on-one with the goalkeeper to seal a deserved 3:1 victory. Lech will now continue their preparations for the upcoming season in Wronki before facing Bohemians 1905 Prague in another friendly next Saturday.

Lech Poznań 3:1 FK Železiarne Podbrezová (1:0)

Goals: Gmur 23, Dudek 58, Rodríguez 82; [Podbrezová] 60.

Lech Poznań (first half): Mateusz Lis – Robert Gumny, Wojciech Mońka, Terry Yegbe, Michał Gurgul – Filip Jagiełło, Antoni Kozubal, Karol Delikat – Wojciech Szymczak, Mikael Ishak, Tymoteusz Gmur.

Lech Poznań (second half): Bartosz Mrozek – Joel Pereira, Mateusz Skrzypczak, Hubert Janyszka, Piotr Bartczak – Radosław Murawski, Gisli Thordarson, Pablo Rodríguez – Sammy Dudek, Yannick Agnero, Daniel Håkans.