Radnički – Partizan 2:3 (0:2)

Radnički: Stanivuković, Veličković, Mijailović, Zečević, Vidović (73. Petrović), Kanute, Krajišnik, Ivanović, Nikolić (65. Izderić), Abas (46. Mustafa), Jovanović (72. Petrović).

Partizan: Milošević, Samson, Simić, Milić (78. Mitrović), Jurčević, Baba, Aleksić (61. Zubairu), Seck (61. Zubairu), Miladinović, Čumić (71. Zeković), Jeh (71. Trifunović).

Partizan defeated Radnički in Niš 3:2 (2:0) in a postponed match from the fourth round of the Mozzart Bet Serbian SuperLiga.

A change of manager often has a positive effect on a team, and that proved to be the case following the change in the Partizan dugout, with Saša Ilić making way for Aleksandar Stanojević. The experienced trophy-winning coach managed to lift the team, and his players put in a very good performance at Čair Stadium.

This assessment is particularly true of the first 45 minutes, when Partizan produced perhaps their best domestic performance of the season so far, playing with aggression, creativity and discipline. They went into the break with a two-goal lead, although their performance on the pitch in Niš suggested the margin could have been even greater.

Brazilian forward Jeh opened the scoring in the 31st minute, reacting superbly to the rebound after Nikola Čumić’s shot. Stefan Milić doubled Partizan’s advantage seven minutes later with a header from a corner.

However, conceding early in the second half, just two minutes after the restart, briefly took the wind out of Partizan’s sails. The Black and Whites soon regained their composure, and Nikola Čumić scored his first goal in a Partizan shirt in the 67th minute. That proved to be enough to secure the victory, which turned out to be the perfect birthday present for head coach Aleksandar Stanojević, who celebrates his 53rd birthday today.

The hosts from Niš managed to reduce the deficit through Ivanović before the final whistle and make the closing stages more tense, but all three points deservedly went to Partizan.