Dejan Stanković's Crvena zvezda made another secure step towards retaining the title with a comfortable 3-0 win over Napredak. The match was unfortunately played behind closed doors with public safety a major concern following the Covid-19 outbreak around the world.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Referee: Jovan Šegrt
Goalscorers: Tomane 22, Gavrić 53, Ivanić 88
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Pankov, Babić, Degenek, Ben, Petrović (Ivanić 69), Nikolić, Gavrić (Garcia 79), Tomane, Pavkov (Jovičić 59).
Substitutes: Popović, Gajić, Jovičić, Ivanić, Garsija, Milunović, Jovančić.
Napredak: Kordić, Obradović, Ožegović, Pajović, Ćuković, Desančić (Bjeloš 75), Markoski (Mijić 61), Aleksić, Stević, Vušurović (Gavrić 46), Ilić.
Substitutes: Andrijanić, Lakić-Pešić, Eskić, Gavrić, Bjeloš, Mijić, Aksentijević.
Napredak have won only two points since the winter break and their fortunes didn't look like changing today as Zvezda started brightly, determined to secure the points at a sadly empty 'Marakana'. Milan Pavkov nearly opened the scoring as early as 3 minutes in, but his header went wide following a good cross from Gavrić. Ben and Gobeljić came close before Tomane finally made the breakthrough on 22 minutes, latching onto a Pavkov's looped header following a corner. The Portuguese striker proved a nusance for the Kruševac side as he was felled in a good position just a few minutes later, leaving the ref no choice but to point to the spot. The resulting penalty was taken by Radovan Pankov, but the defender could only hit the crossbar, so it remained 1-0.
Pavkov missed a terrific chance shortly after the break, but Kordić made a fine double save to frustrate the big striker and leave his team in the game. Željko Gavrić produced another eye-cathing performance and he made it count with some trickery down the left flank. This time he left a couple of defenders in his wake and squeezed the ball into the net from a tight angle to double the lead and all but secure the win over toothless opposition.
The visitors' first chance came on 67 minutes, but Aleksic fired wide of Borjan's net. At the other end, El Fardou Ben tortured Napredak's defenders with his clever movement, but goals eluded him this time around. It was substitute Mirko Ivanić who put the finishing touch to the victory when he finished cooly one on one when released by Ben's fine through pass.
The final whistle brought confirmation of our 22nd league win of the season.