UEFA Champions League – Match Review: Shaktar Donetsk versus Partizan Belgrade
Shaktar Donetsk opened their UEFA Champions League campaign after a nervy but valuable win over Partizan Belgrade. Shaktar started the match off brightly as William; their winger tore his way into the opposition’s penalty area in the 5th minute
of the match. He then crossed the ball to Rat who was unmarked at the edge of the area but Rat’s effort was just inches away from the Partizan goal.
It was a hint of things to come as Partizan were on the back foot for large periods of the first half of the match. William was one of Donetsk’s players that stood out in the night as he constantly troubled Partizan’s defence whenever he got the opportunity
and the space to do so. In the 11th minute of the match, Srna led his team in the counter attack and Shaktar almost got their first goal of the match as the Croatian crossed the ball to Luiz Adriano who was tackled right before he got a shot off
by Savic.
The Partizan defender saved his team with a brilliant last ditch tackle to deny Adriano a goal scoring chance. 26th minute of the match saw a fine moment of goalkeeping from the Partizan goalkeeper, Stojkovic. Adriano got the ball inside Partizan’s
penalty area and skipped past Krstajić to get a shot on goal. It was a sure shot goal if the Partizan shot stopper had not palmed it away in spectacular fashion.
For the rest of the half, Partizan dealt comfortably with Donetsk’s offensive moves but they generated little threat of their own on the counter attack. The Austria club side looked dull in attack and lacked imagination in their midfield area. Even though
they were playing with two strikers up front, the Austrian champions found it incredibly hard to get past a solid Shaktar defence.
Despite the fact that Shaktar were without their stalwart midfielder, Fernandinho for the match, they were not shy in creating opportunities. However their finishing left much to be desired as the first half of the match ended in a minimal one goal lead
for the Romanian league champions. The only reason that Partizan were not down by a margin of more than a goal was due to their goal keepers fine saves all throughout the half.
Right after the second half came into action; Shaktar resumed their good work from the first half and broke into attack in the 47th minute of the match. However they were again forced to concede another corner as Stojkovic proved to be a wall
in front of the Partizan goal for them. In the 54th minute of the second half, Jadson broke on the counter attack for Donetsk but alas, Stojkovic proved to be a step too far for the Romanian midfielder.
In the 57th minute, both the teams made their first substitutions of the match. Iliev came off for Partizan Belgrade to make room for Boya while Jadson was replaced by Donetsk in place of Teixeira. In the 65th minute, Srna squared a
ball for Luiz Adriano but the strikers header was once again tipped over the cross bar by the on form goalkeeper.
Partizan had their first chance to get something out of the game in the 69th minute of the match. It was a fantastic moment for them to grab an equalizer and punish Shaktar for their non-prolific finishing but Krstajić’s free kick could only find
the cross bar and not the net inside the Donetsk goal. Right at the end of the match in the 91st minute, Gai struck the post for Donetsk again the Romanian team failed to add to their one goal lead.
At the end of the match, the score line was 1-0 to Shaktar who despite dominating the game and producing a bunch of chances could not add to their goal tally. Nonetheless it was a efficient result on their part which granted them a good chance of qualification
from a group which includes the likes of Arsenal.
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