Clinical Crvena Zvezda punish Partizan

Champions FK Crvena Zvezda breathed new life into the Superliga title race with a resounding 4-1 home win against city rivals FK Partizan in a one-sided Belgrade derby.

Derby debuts
The home side kicked off six points behind their local rivals and league leaders, whose coach Slaviša Jokanović was taking charge of Partizan in a derby for the first time, the match played behind closed doors following crowd trouble at Crvena Zvezda's 1-1 draw with FK Hadjuk Kula on 2 December. Their own coach Aleksandr Janković, who only took charge in January and for whom the Partizan match represented his league debut with the club, saw his new charges make the worst possible start as Predrag Lazić scored his sixth league goal of the season to give the visitors a third-minute lead – but the match was soon turned on its head.

Crvena Zvezda take command
Midfielder Dejan Milovanović brought Crvena Zvezda level in the 19th minute with his fifth league goal in only his ninth start of the season, and from then on the hosts looked the likely winners. Ecuador midfielder Segundo Castillo put the home side in front nine minutes before half-time and scored his second – and Crvena Zvezda's third goal – eleven minutes into the second period, leaving Nenad Milijaš to complete a memorable win from the penalty spot in the 68th minute. Partizan still hold a three-point advantage over their opponents at the top of the table, although it remains to be seen how the loss will affect their prospects of securing a first league title since 2004/05.