Poland had huge support inside the Spartak Stadium and are the seeded team in Group H – but they were disappointing in all areas. Lewandowski was heavily marked, but apart from a weak shot on the turn that went wide and a free-kick that was easily saved he posed little threat to the Senegal goal.
It was the 29-year-old Bayern Munich striker’s World Cup debut and he needs much better service if he is to help Poland recover from their terrible start and progress beyond the group stage. Influential defender Kamil Glik injured his shoulder shortly before the start of the tournament attempting a bicycle-kick and is not yet fit. He was badly missed. Not only did replacement Cionek suffer the misfortune of deflecting an innocuous-looking shot into his own net, but the entire backline struggled to cope with the pace and physicality of their opponents.
Poland brought on defender Jan Bednarek for Jakub Blaszczykowski – who had a miserable game on his 100th appearance for his country – at the restart and switched to five at the back, with the full-backs pushing forward. But despite a marginal overall improvement it could not eradicate the sloppiness in midfield, which was evident as Senegal extended their lead.
Krychowiak’s backpass at best showed a lack of awareness and left Szczesny caught in no man’s land as Niang beat him and Bednarek to the ball before slotting into an empty net. Krychowiak’s header was well taken four minutes before full-time but it could not mask a disappointing afternoon for Adam Nawalka’s team.