The Polish champions won 4-1 in Randers (where Aarhus currently play their home matches), and it’s hard to imagine them squandering such an advantage, especially on their own ground. Poulsen admits his team faces a tough challenge, but he hasn’t lost hope of turning the tie around.
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"Without a doubt, we are in a tough spot. We have three goals to make up. However, I am convinced my team will approach the second leg with ambition. We’ll play our best and try to win. Our task will be to take the lead as quickly as possible, and then maybe we can add a second goal. If that happens, we’ll be right back in it, and then who knows what could happen," said the visitors’ coach.
The coach admits his squad arrived in Poznań weakened. Goalkeeper Jesper Hansen, who was sent off with a red card in the first match, is suspended, and several players stayed home due to health reasons, including Tobias Molgaard, Luka Callo, Kevin Jakob, and Gift Links. On the other hand, defender Rasmus Carstensen returns to the squad after injury; he played for the Poznań team in the spring round of the 2024/25 season and won the Polish championship.
"We have a lot of matches to play, and keeping our sporting goals in mind, we have to be careful not to aggravate any injuries," Poulsen explained.
Our task will be to silence the fans.
The Danish champions’ coach said that in the first match, Lech proved to be an exceptionally clinical team, but he also noticed some weaknesses in their play that his players will try to exploit.
"It wouldn’t be the smartest thing to say exactly what I mean, because Niels (Frederiksen) is surely watching and reading what we say," Poulsen admitted with a smile.
On Wednesday, more than 35,000 spectators will be in the stands at the Poznań stadium. Opponents rarely get the chance to play in front of such a large crowd, but Poulsen sees only one minor issue with this.
"Such a big turnout promises a fantastic atmosphere at the stadium. That’s exactly why we train and work—to play in front of such a big audience. With loud support, it’s hard to communicate with the team, so before the match, we need to come up with a plan to communicate somehow. But our task will also be to silence those fans," he emphasized.
The winner of this two-legged tie will face Sabah Baku in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, after the Azerbaijani side eliminated Finland’s KuPS Kuopio on Tuesday. The Azerbaijan outfit won 1-0 at home and 2-0 away.
The second leg of the Champions League second qualifying round between Lech and Aarhus GF will be played on Wednesday at 19:00 CET.