Crvena zvezda and Partizan played out a goalless draw in the 162nd Večiti derbi on Sunday night. This stalemate left the 11-point gulf between the rivals in the table.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 38,271
Referee: Lazar Lukić
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Degenek, Milunović, Rodić (Pankov 74’), Petrović, Jovančić, Ben, Nikolić, Gavrić (Ivanić 84’), Boakye (Vukanović 34’).
Partizan: Stojković, Miletić, Ostojić, S Pavlović, Urošević, Zdjelar, Natcho, Marković (F Stevanović 46’), Soumah (Šćekić 75’), Asano, Sadiq (Matić 86’).
Dejan Stanković led the team for the first time in a Belgrade derby, facing his former Serbia team-mate Savo Milošević. The match started with both team showing the nerves early on with chances proving hard to come by. The red and whites showed some more attacking intent, however, and Željko Gavrić created problems for the black and whites down the left flank.
Njegoš Petrović tried to beat Vladimir Stojković from outside the box, but the experienced goalkeeper managed to keep him out with 20 minutes gone.
Richmond Boakye picked up a muscle injury and had to leave the pitch to be replaced by Aleksa Vukanović after just 33 minutes played. The Ghanaian striker showed just how much the match meant to him as he left the pitch in tears.
Petrović lost the ball in a dangerous area after the break and gave Partizan an unlikely opportunity to approach Borjan’s net. Thankfully, Nigerian forward Umar Sadiq fired wide. Another defensive lapse gave Bibras Natcho a sight of goal shortly after that Sadiq’s chance and the Israeli midfielder blasted wide from the edge of the area.
The second half brought many interruptions to the play as both sets of fans set flares off in a bid to improve the atmosphere at the stadium. This brought little incentive to the players, however, who struggled to create openings. The best chance came to Aleksa Vukanović following a corner late on, but he poked wide with defenders surrounding him quickly.
The final whistle came after some seven minutes of added time and both teams had to settle for a point each after a nervy match at Rajko Mitić Stadium.