The footballers of Red Star Belgrade convincingly defeated Partizan Belgrade 3:0 in the Eternal Derby as part of the 24th round of the Mozzartbet Serbian SuperLiga.
Red Star was not at the same energy level as in Lille and struggled fairly with Partizan’s marking in the first half, but through individual quality and masterful moves by Kostov, Katai and Arnautović, they completely disrupted the black-and-whites’ game plan in the second half and inflicted a heavy defeat on them in the 178th Eternal Derby – 3:0 (1:0).
This team led by Dejan Stanković will be remembered as the one that created a historic gap in victories over the club from Humska. As of tonight, the record stands at 72:48 or +24 in favor of the Red-and-Whites, with 58 draws.
Nenad Stojaković’s plan to mark the main organizers of Red Star’s play yielded results in the first 40 minutes of the match. Red Star did not have space to spread out and reach the opponent’s goal through passing combinations, but they managed to put pressure on Partizan’s defense toward the end of the first half and take the lead through Vasilije Kostov, which proved to be the key moment of the match.
Red Star played with much more confidence in the second half, while Partizan was left without a basic idea in their play. Arnautović doubled the home team’s lead with an effective strike in the 56th minute, while the final score was set after the best action of the match in the 77th minute: Arnautović executed a bicycle kick, Kostov cleverly laid the ball off with his heel, and Katai sent an unstoppable shot into Partizan’s net.
Nenad Stojaković’s lineup paid the price for poor closing of the first and opening of the second half, and then missed the chance to get back into the match from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute. Mateus saved a weak attempt by Milan Vukotić, Andrej Kostić ran onto the rebound and scored, but after a VAR review it was determined that the Partizan striker had encroached, so it remained 2:0, and Red Star soon removed any doubt about the winner.