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Russia were the favorites to win last night’s game against Poland, however, the co-hosts had other thoughts in their mind. Jakub B?aszczykowski’s stunning long range goal overshadowed Dzagoev’s goal by a mile.
Group A is turning out to be the most exciting group at the Euros until now, as opposed to what everyone thought at the start.
Przemyslaw Tyton (6.5)
Can’t really blame him for the Russian goal. He had a confident start to the tournament and more can be expected from him.
Lukasz Piszczek (6)
Tidy with his challenges but was pinned behind by Zyryanov, making it difficult to go up ahead as often he would’ve liked. He had more opportunities in the second half to get forward and could’ve contributed more in the attack.
Marcin Wasilewski (5)
The free kick he gave away cost Russia Poland’s goal. He lost the ball twice and should have ensured that Dzagoev was properly marked.
Damien Perquis (7)
Made two fantastic challenges on Kerzhakov and despite having a tough first half, did relatively well.
Sebastian Boenisch (6.5)
He had a hard time dealing with the Russian attack, but went close to scoring from a free kick.
Dariusz Dudka (6)
Was his Euro debut and didn’t fail to impress many. Sat deep, provided cover for the Polish defense and had a decent passing throughout. Was substituted at 73′.
Eugen Polanski (8)
Won some important balls in the centre of midfield. Was a continous threat throughout the game. Provided Lewandowski with a fantastic ball through fter the break.
Jakub B?aszczykowski (7.5)
Cut inside beautifully and scored a superb goal in the second half. His first half performance didn’t really trouble the Russians, but the goal made up for it.
Rafa? Murawski (7)
Made the midfield area more compact and ensured that Lewandowski had a partner up in attack but none of his passes raised any significant questions to the Russian defence.
Ludovic Obraniak (6)
His free kicks were dangerous for the Russian defence. However, his corners and passes never really threatened the 33-year-old goalkeeper.
Robert Lewandowski (7.5)
The Dortmund striker worked hard up front and tried to create space for his team mates, but only had one good opportunity to score a goal. He nearly helped Polanski grab a goal and definitely deserved at least one himself.
Subs
Adrian Mierzejewski (on 73′)
Adam Matuszczyk (on 85′)
Pawel Brozek (on 90′)
Vyacheslav Malafeev (6.5)
Had a good game and wasn’t tested by Poland very often. Looked confident while saving crosses, but could do nothing to prevent B?aszczykowski’s fantastic strike.
Alexander Anyukov (6)
Defensively, he had a decent game. He was more effective going forward, providing width for the Russians with his overlapping runs.
Sergei Ignashevich (6)
Started off well, but found it really hard to contain Lewandowski.
Yuri Zhirkov (6.5)
He tried to show some good runs in attack – but often found himself without any luck for the final pass. He linked up well with his frontline, in particular Arshavin, and managed to deliver a few dangerous crosses from the left.
Aleksei Berezutskiy (5)
Committed a number of fouls and could have closed down on Blaszczykowski quicker to prevent strike for goal.
Roman Shirokov (6.5)
He was often found in the Polish penalty box, but never really got enough support to attempt a goal. He did have a decent half chance near the end of the first half but could only send the ball wide.
Igor Denisov (6.5)
Was under immense pressure by the Polish midfield. He did pick up a booking for a hefty challenge and was lucky not to have been sent off after committing a few other dangerous looking fouls.
Konstantin Zyryanov (5.5)
Zyryanov put in a subdued performance for Russia and was not as involved in the game as he should have been.
Alan Dzagoev (79′ off) (7.5)
Grabbed the spotlight in the opening game with two goals and he continued his goal-scoring exploits in this game. Timed his run perfectly to convert Arshavin’s cross. Came infield more to escape attention of Boenisch.
Andrei Arshavin (7.5)
Provided a deadly cross for the goal. He was at the heart of all of Russia’s attack and created several decent goal-scoring chances for his teammates.
Alexander Kerzhakov (70′ off) (6.5)
His movement was good as he regularly found space in threatening areas of the pitch. Replaced by Pavlyuchenko after 69 minutes.
Subs
Roman Pavlyuchenko (70′ on) (5.5)
Bringing him on as a sub for Kerzhakov wasn’t entirely worth his while for he hardly got a chance to do anything dangerous in Poland’s box.
Marat Izmailov (79′ on)
