Crvena zvezda bowed out of European competition for the season after falling to a narrow defeat at CSKA Moskva. Although experienced home side dominated the match, fans of Red Star will be disappointed at some missed chance to score a goal or two and sneak into next round.
Ground: Stadion CSKA Moskva
Attendance: 18,753
Referee: Jorge Sousa (Portugal)Goalscorer: Dzagoev 45+1'
Teams:
CSKA Moskva: Akinfeev, Berezutski, Ignashevich, Vasin, Dzagoev, Natcho, Vitinho, Fernandes, Kuchaev, Musa, Wernbloom.
Substitutes: Pomazun, Milanov, Nababkin, Bistrovic, Chalov, Gordyushenko, Khosonov.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Stojković, Savić, Le Tallec, Rodić, Donald, Jovičić, Krstičić, Ben Nabouhane, Radonjić, Pešić.
Substitutes: Supić, Račić, Milijaš, Babić, Srnić, Gobeljić, Adžić.
Vladan Milojević stuck to the same team that faced CSKA Moskva last week in Belgrade and it looked a lot like the first leg: the Russian side having most of possession, but hardly doing anything meaningful with it with Zvezda looking to break when given a chance.
Our team seemed reasonably comfortable in very cold weather on a frozen pitch, moving well and preventing the home team from creating a real shooting chance.
Krstičić has had a goalbound volley blocked before Ben Nabouhane failed to square for the onrushing Pešić, as Milojević's men tried to make the most of chances to attack the well-drilled Russian side.
However, just seconds before the break it was 1-0 to The Army Men. Fernandes handballer out on the right flank in the buildup, but unfortunately for Zvezda it wasn't spotted by the match officials. Caught out of position, our defence tried to adjust, but home team exploited the space out on the left wing and Russian international Alan Dzagoev was on hand to poke home from five meters out after a well-struck low cross.
It's a terrible time to concede and it showed. Our players came back out for the second half knowing that they will be eliminated from Europa League unless they find the net, but it took some time to build any kind of pressure.
Ironically, it was the team from Russian capital that looked more dangerous as Viktor Goncharenko's players searched for another goal that would surely settle the tie.
It was the final ten minutes that Zvezda looked like snatching a draw that would mean qualification for the Round of 16 in the Europa League. Aleksandar Pešić did great to stay onside on 81 minutes when Slavoljub Srnić whipped a cross from the right-hand side, but the striker couldn’t connect with the goal at his mercy. It was the best chance of the match, one that will probably be remembered by the players and the fans alike.
But it wasn’t over just yet as El Fardou Ben Nabouhane latched onto a ball that was headed on by Nenad Krstičić, but new boy struck the ball poorly and put it wide from a fine position. It proved to be our last chance of the match and CSKA Moskva celebrated with their fans as disappointed Zvezda players stayed on the pitch to acknowledge the away fans who braved the cold to cheer the team on.
It was a night of mixed feelings. Everyone will have felt sad because of the defeat and missed chances, but at the same time, everyone who cares for Crvena zvezda will be proud at the achievements in this season’s Europa League. It was quite a journey since that first match with FC Floriana in the First Qualifying Round all the way to this Round of 32 clash in Moscow.
It was a brave effort from Vladan Milojević and his players who certainly made many Crvena zvezda fans proud this season. We now turn to domestic competitions, where Superliga remains a priority to the team. Well done, lads!