The match could have started perfectly for Śląsk, as ten minutes into the game Sebastian Musiolik scored in the penalty area amid the confusion. The referee pointed to the center of the field, but avoided starting the game.
Did the referee “steal” a goal from the Wrocław team?
After a few minutes and VAR analysis, the Croatian disallowed the goal after noticing an infraction committed by one of the Śląsk players. The home team kept their heads and protested strongly, but the decision was final.
The Swiss announced that they came to Wrocław not to defend a two-goal lead, but to win again, and they showed it on the pitch, because they played courageously, offensively and created goal-scoring opportunities. They were looking for a goal and they finally found it. After some quick action, the ball in Śląsk’s penalty area went to Bastien Tom, who made no mistake from eight meters.
At this point, it seemed like the emotions at the Tarczyński Arena had died down. Coach Jacek Magiera’s team needed to score three goals to go into extra time. It seemed impossible.
Śląsk recovered from defeats before the break
The missed goal hurt Śląsk’s wings a bit and the visitors had the optical advantage. The Swiss were leading, but despite everything, in the first half they tried to gain time and steal precious seconds. It looked like nothing would happen until half-time, but then the seventh minute arrived and the stands heated up.
It all started with a shot from Petr Schwarz, who slid in to receive a cross from Mateusz Żukowski. 120 seconds later, Piotr Samiec-Talar decided to shoot from outside the area and hit it perfectly. The visitors started to play very nervously and abruptly. Nahuel Leiva was brought down on the touchline, Schwarz placed the ball, crossed perfectly to Aleks Petkov’s head and Śląsk made up for the defeat.
A controversial decision by the referee
If the break cooled things down a bit, things heated up again soon after the game restarted. First, the match was interrupted because goalkeeper Ati Zigi complained about the behavior of the Śląsk fans.
When the game was restarted after a few minutes, the Wrocław team launched an attack and Schwarz had a great opportunity, but unexpectedly the referee stopped the action and awarded Śląsk a free kick. Coach Magiera’s players once again held their heads and protested, but it was not the last such incident in this match.
Petkov penalized for trying to force a penalty kick
A quarter of an hour before the end of the match, Petkov fell in the visitors’ penalty area. The referee analyzed the situation on the monitor and then gave the Wrocław defender a yellow card for trying to force a penalty. As this was the second warning, the Bulgarian had to leave the field. The Śląsk players shook their heads again in disbelief.
Fights between players
The numerically superior guests took the initiative, but little came of it. The referee added up to 12 minutes and when it seemed that extra time would be necessary, he noticed a hand by Leiva and after analysis by the VAR he pointed to the eleventh meter.
There were fights between the players and, as a result, Leiva received a yellow card and, as it was the second warning, he had to leave the field.
Rafał Leszczyński saved Christin Witzig’s shot from 11 metres, but the referee ordered a replay. In the second half, Willem Geubbels approached the ball and scored.
Śląsk played with nine players, but still attacked. Arnau Ortiz, introduced moments earlier, went down in the visitors’ penalty area, but the Croatian referee decided that the Spaniard was trying to force a penalty and showed him a red card. At that time, Śląsk played with eight players.
The runners-up were unable to turn the tie around in two legs and said goodbye to the European cups.
Śląsk Wrocław – FC Sankt Gallen 3:2 (3:1)
Goals: 0:1 Bastien Toma (21), 1:1 Petr Schwarz (41), 2:1 Piotr Samiec-Talar (43), 3:1 Aleks Petkov (45+2), 3:2 Willem Geubbels (90+18- pity)
Yellow card – Śląsk Wrocław: Mateusz Żukowski, Jehor Macenko, Aleks Petkov, Nahuel Leiva, Rafał Leszczyński; FC St. Gallen: Chima Okoroji, Jordi Quintilla, Lukas Gortler, Jozo Stanic
Red card after second yellow card – Śląsk Wrocław: Aleks Petkov (77), Nahuel Leiva (90+11), Arnau Ortiz (90+22)
Judge: Duje Strukan (Croatia)
Spectators: 18,053
Wroclaw: Rafał Leszczyński – Mateusz Żukowski, Simeon Petrov, Aleks Petkov, Jehor Macenko (90+18. Arnau Ortiz) – Piotr Samiec-Talar (67. Burak Ince), Peter Pokorny, Marcin Cebula (81. Aleksander Paluszek), Petr Schwarz (90 +18. Tommaso Guercio), Nahuel Leiva – Sebastian Musiolik (90+18. Jakub Jezierski)
FC St. Gallen: Ati Zigi – Jozo Stanic (61. Mihailo Stevanovic), Stephan Ambrosius, Abdoulaye Diaby, Chima Okoroji – Lukas Gortler (61. Isaac Schmidt), Jordi Quintilla, Bastien Toma, Christian Witzig (90+24. Moustapha Cisse) – Willem Geubbels ( 90+18. Jovan Milosevic), Chadrac Akolo (90+24. Corsin Konietzke)
