Our team raced to yet another win it the Superliga, putting three goals past Čukarički on the night Diego Falcinelli made his Zvezda debut.
Ground: FK Čukarički
Referee: Lazar Lukić.
Goalscorers: Savić 84’ - Milunović 3’, Ivanić 50’, Kanga 54’ pen
Čukarički: Petrović, Tošić, Docić (64’ Lukić), Kajević, Savić (85’ Vidosavljević), Ćirković, Ostojić, Pantić, Šapić, Birmančević (75’ Rakonjac), Eze.
Substitutes: Belić, Rakonjac, Vidosavljević, Šarić, Kamenović, Nikčević, Lukić.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gajić, Milunović, Degenek, Rodić (56’ Pankov), Sanogo (79’ Falcinelli), Nikolić, Kanga, Ivanić (79’ Petrović), Gavrić (56’ Spiridonović), Boayke (6’ Vukanović)
Substitutes: Popović, Pankov, Eraković, Petrović, Jovančić, Simić, Radulović, Spiridonović, Vukanović, Falcinelli.
Defender Nemanja Milunović showed his poacher’s instinct early on and pounced the quickest to volley Zvezda ahead after just three minutes of play. It was a perfect start to the game and it made Dejan Stanković’s job a bit easier on the night.
Sadly for the all-blue-clad red and whites, Richmond Boakye picked up an injury and had to be substituted off inside the opening ten minutes with Aleksa Vukanović replacing him upfront.
Our team controlled much of the first half, but was restricted to long-range attempts. Gavrić, Ivanić and Kanga all tried their luck, but it remained 1-0.
The points were pretty much secured in the five-minute spell at the start of the second half, when our team scored twice. Ivanić’s shot was deflected and it ended up in the net. And Kanga scored from the spot just a few minutes later after Vukanović had been fouled in the area. That made it 3-0 to the champions and Čukarički looked lost.
The hosts managed to pull one goal back, however, as Savić beat Borjan with a lovely effort some five minutes from time.
Srđan Spiridonović hit the woodwork late on as Zvezda held on to the lead with some ease and put another three points on the board ahead of the big trip to Nicosia in the UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round.