Defending Lithuanian champions FK Kauno Žalgiris continued their flawless start to the Toplyga season, cruising to a 5-0 away victory over FA Šiauliai. The team coached by Eivinas Černiauskas secured their fifth win in five matches, maintaining a perfect record.
The visitors struck almost immediately. Just moments after kickoff, Amine Benchaib broke through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. His initial effort was saved, but Leo Ribeiro reacted quickly and converted the rebound on his second attempt to open the scoring in the 3rd minute.
Despite the early setback, the hosts responded with several promising attacks, though goalkeeper Tomas Švedkauskas stood firm and denied Šiauliai an equalizer.
In the 36th minute, Fabien Ourega came close to doubling Kauno Žalgiris’ advantage, and shortly afterwards the visitors did find their second goal. Gratas Sirgėdas stepped up for a free kick and delivered a precise strike into the net to make it 2-0.
Just before halftime, Ourega had another golden opportunity after breaking clear on goal, but he was unable to convert.
Kauno Žalgiris extended their lead early in the second half. Leo Ribeiro provided an excellent cross, and Amine Benchaib met it with a header to score the visitors’ third goal.
The visitors continued to dominate and added a fourth in the 75th minute after capitalizing on a defensive error from Šiauliai. Following a pass from Sirgėdas, Dāvis Ikaunieks punished his former club to make it 4-0.
Šiauliai nearly responded immediately, but their effort struck the woodwork.
Soon after, Benchaib missed another chance of his own before making amends by exploiting a mistake from the opposing goalkeeper and setting up Damjan Pavlović, who calmly finished to seal a 5-0 victory.
The defeat continues a difficult start to the season for the Jurģis Pučinskis-managed Šiauliai, who entered the match still without a win and remain winless after five rounds. Šiauliai are now one of three teams yet to record a victory in the Toplyga this season, alongside Riteriai and Hegelmann FC.
With the win, Kauno Žalgiris remain perfect after five rounds, firmly establishing themselves at the top of the Toplyga table.
FA Šiauliai vs FK Kauno Žalgiris – 0-5 (0-2)
Goals: Leo Ribeiro 3′, Sirgedas 38′, Benchaib 57′, Ikaunieks 75′, Pavlovic 80′
Round 5
FC Hegelmann
FK Riteriai
Džiugas Telšiai
Kauno Žalgiris
Transinvest| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kauno Žalgiris |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 15 |
| 2 | Džiugas Telšiai |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | FK Žalgiris |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | Transinvest |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | FK Banga |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | FK Sūduva |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | FK Panevėžys |
5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 5 |
| 8 | FC Hegelmann |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 9 | FA Šiauliai |
5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 3 |
| 10 | FK Riteriai |
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 14 | -12 | 0 |
