Lech, after winning the first leg in Denmark against Aarhus 4-1, was practically one step away from the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Hardly anyone in Poznan expected that the return match would turn into one of the biggest embarrassments for the Polish club in recent years.
The Danes made up a three-goal deficit in regular time and led 3-0. After an additional 30 minutes, it was 4-1 for Aarhus, and the outcome was decided by penalties. The visitors won 4-3 and continue their fight to qualify for the Champions League.
The "Kolejorz" coach did not hide his disappointment after the match.
"We are hugely disappointed. If you have a 4-1 advantage from an away game, you shouldn't lose 1-4 at home. I've been in this profession for over 30 years, and I've had some painful defeats, but this is definitely one of the biggest," admitted Frederiksen.
He added that there are many reasons for the defeat, but also assured that his players did not become overconfident after last week's big win.
"I definitely didn't see any underestimation of the opponent from my players. We worked very hard, but we couldn't raise our game to a high level. We lacked the right quality in our play with the ball, but right now it's hard for me to pinpoint the reason. In the first match, we were very efficient; we managed to convert most of our chances into goals. Today, our rivals were exceptionally effective, because in my opinion, both teams had an equal number of scoring opportunities," he assessed.
The Lech coach recalled that even after the draw, he said his team would face an extremely tough opponent.
"This is a really strong team. In the first match, even playing with ten men, they managed to push us into defense and score a goal. I think Aarhus was one of the strongest teams we could have faced. As for the next opponents, with all due respect to those teams, they seemed more within our reach," he emphasized.
Poznań now has to fight for a place in the Europa League group stage, and in the third qualifying round, they will face KÍ Klaksvík from the Faroe Islands.
"We still have our ambitions, but unfortunately, it won't be the Champions League anymore. We'll try to fight for the Europa League, which would still be a step forward compared to last season. We have to take responsibility and respond properly already in the next league match," summed up Frederiksen.
Meanwhile, Jakob Poulsen, coach of the Danish champions, was in an excellent mood.
"Before the match, I told my players that first and foremost, we had to believe we could go through, and then play as well as possible. We managed to do both. I think when we scored the second goal, that's when we really realized we could do it. Our 1-0 lead was still relatively safe for Lech. Many of my players had a fantastic game today," he said.
The coach also thanked the fans, more than two thousand of whom supported his team at Enea Stadium.
"We have fantastic fans, just like Lech. They follow us everywhere and support us strongly. We feel immense joy that we could give them another round of Champions League qualifying," he emphasized.