Kauno Žalgiris cruise past Panevėžys to stay top of A Lyga

The 17th round of the TOPsport A Lyga rolled on in Kaunas, where league leaders FK Kauno Žalgiris faced off against an in-form FK Panevėžys side. In front of the home crowd at Darius and Girėnas Stadium, the hosts delivered a dominant display, claiming a 3–0 victory that firmly cemented their place at the top of the table.

Coming into the match, Kauno Žalgiris were riding a seven-game unbeaten run in the league, six of those being wins. Meanwhile, Panevėžys, led by head coach Roland Vrabec, had lost just once in their last eight A Lyga outings—setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown between two of the league’s most in-form sides.

The match got off to a flying start for the hosts. Just two minutes in, Serbian striker Dejan Georgijević demonstrated his class, expertly controlling a pass in the box and beating goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas with a composed, low finish to give Kauno Žalgiris an early lead.

Despite going ahead, Žalgiris showed no intention of easing off. Amine Benchaib twice tested Černiauskas, and Damjan Pavlović forced the Panevėžys keeper into a sharp save. Midway through the first half, Fedor Černych, who returned to the starting lineup in place of the absent Georgian Temur Chogadze, rattled the crossbar with a powerful effort, underlining the home side’s dominance.

In contrast, Panevėžys—coming off a 2–0 win over Dainava Alytus in their last league match—made only one change to their starting XI, with Justinas Januševskis returning to the lineup after a one-game absence. But the visitors struggled to find rhythm in this contest and were limited to a few sharp passes into the Žalgiris box.

Kauno Žalgiris continued to dictate the tempo after the break. In the 53rd minute, Georgijević nearly grabbed his second, but Černiauskas made a strong save. The second goal finally arrived in the 62nd minute, as Benchaib picked out Georgijević in the box with a pinpoint pass, and the striker coolly slotted home for his brace.

Moments later, the win was sealed when Fabien Ourega scored his first goal in a Žalgiris shirt, capping off a comprehensive performance by the league leaders.

The two sides had previously met on April 19th in Matchday 8, a game that also went Kauno Žalgiris’ way. In that encounter, Panevėžys went down to ten men in the first half, missed a penalty in the second, and eventually conceded twice to lose 0–2.

With this latest victory, Kauno Žalgiris now sit atop the table with 37 points, while Panevėžys remain in 5th place with 22.

FK Kauno Žalgiris vs FK Paņevežys – 3:0 (1:0)
Goals: Georgijevič 2′ 62′, Ourega 68′
KAU: Švedkauskas, Edokpolor, Hernandez, Tolordava, Bah-Traore, Ourega (Paulauskas 85′), Pavlovic (Naah 69′), Benchaib (Jansonas 78′), Sirgedas, Černych (Armanavičius 69′), Georgijevič (Burdzilauskas 78′)
PAN: Černiauskas, Rasimavičius, Dante (Steponavičius 56′), Kerkez, Krasniqi, Januševskis, Kouadio (Asamoah 72′), Radunovic (Vaičekauskas 72′), De Vega, Veliulis (Asante 56′), Smith

A Lyga Matchday 17 games:

• 24.06.2025 – FK Kauno Žalgiris vs FK Paņevežys – 3:0
• 24.06.2025 – FK Žalgiris vs FC Hegelmann– 0:1
• 24.06.2025 – DFK Dainava Alytus vs FK Banga Gargždai – 2:1
• 25.06.2025 – FC Džiugas Telšiai vs FK Riteriai – 19:00
• 25.06.2025 – FA Šiauliai vs FK Sūduva – 19:00