Polish champions Lech Poznan humbled by the lowest ranked side left in Europe, Vikingur Reykjavik
- Seb Sternik
- 5 August 2022
Lech Poznan endured one of their most embarrassing European defeats in recent memory after falling to a 1-0 loss against Vikingur Reykjavik.
The Polish champions, who are ranked 208th in the UEFA coefficient, were beaten in the first leg of their third round Europa Conference League qualifier by a 45th minute Ari Sigurpalsson goal.
Despite their slip up in the first leg, Lech are still favourites to progress past their Icelandic rivals in the rematch.
Nevertheless, the magnitude of the defeat certainly won't be swept under the carpet.
Vikingur are currently 427th in the coefficient, meaning they are the lowest ranked club still left in Europe.
This is a team which before the start of the season hadn't won a single match in Europe, despite their seven previous campaigns on the continent.
This season, due to their incredibly low ranking, the Icelandic champions had to start their Champions League qualifying journey in the preliminary round.
After dispatching minnows from Estonia and Moldova, Vikingur set their sights on Swedish powerhouse Malmo and came close to pulling off one of the shocks of the year after losing 6-5 over two legs.
After losing in Iceland, Lech Poznan removed the "best team in Poland" tag off their Twitter account bio. 👀 #UECL #VIKLPO pic.twitter.com/1RwVzWMmGP
— Pat Novak (@PatricNova) August 5, 2022
Vikingur did eventually have their moment in the sun after sensationally taking out the Polish champions on home turf.
The difference between the two clubs is stark, with Lech boasting a squad value of £29.57million and Vikingur a mere £2.10million.
Despite this, the Icelandic powerhouses now have an opportunity of pulling off the biggest coup in European football this year, when they travel away to Poznan for the second leg.
