Lugano won 2-1 on Polish soil against Legia Warsaw. Now the Bianconeri only need the math to qualify for the Conference League round of 16.
Legia Warsaw – Lugano 1-2 (1-1): 10′ Morishita (Le), 39′ Bottani (Lu), 73′ Hajdari (Lu)
In the first 5 minutes Legia did not touch the ball, but Lugano was unable to find openings to worry the Polish rearguard. In the 10th minute, however, Legia took the lead with Morishita who took advantage of the rebound of the crossbar hit by Gual: 1-0. In the 18th minute Lugano made their first two shots towards the goal defended by Kobylak, but both Bislimi’s and Papadopoulos’ attempts fell easily under the goalkeeper’s gloves. Morishita tries again from distance a few minutes later, but the ball goes just wide. Legia Warsaw lets Lugano play, preferring counter-attacks, but the solidity of the Poles puts the Bianconeri’s maneuvers to the test. At 39′ it’s the good time; Lugano equalizes the score with Bottani who, following a corner kick taken by Steffen, stands alone and beats Kobylak: 1-1.
In the 50th minute Steffen serves Bottani in the small penalty area. The Ticino player has his back to the goal and hesitates, serving Bislimi backwards instead of turning around: a wonderful opportunity. In the 73rd minute Hajdari put the Bianconeri ahead after a dangerous free kick from Grgic: the goalkeeper blocked a deflection from Przybylko and the Swiss centre-back pushed the ball into the net to make it 2-1. In the 79th minute Steffen starts on the counterattack again and at the moment of the shot he is unable to give the ball the right turn: Kobylak blocks. After 5 minutes of injury time the Spanish referee Juan Martinez Munuera ended the match. Lugano achieves a coup in Poland and joins Legia to the top of the Conference League standings. Mattia Croci-Torti’s team only needs the mathematics to gain direct access to the round of 16 of the European competition.
