Red Star - Fiorentina 5:0 (5:0)

Red Star - Fiorentina 5:0 (5:0)

Stadium: "Rajko Mitić".

Viewers: 36882.

Referee: Miloš Milanović.

Scorers: Olanjinka in the 9th and 23rd, Kraso in the 11th, Ivanić in the 14th and Bukari in the 27th minute.

Yellow cards: Leković (Crvena zvezda), Mandragora (Fiorentina).

Red Star: Glazer (from 60. Popović), Degenek (from 46. Spajić), Mijailović (from 70. Nikolić), Rodić (from 60. Leković), Bukari (from 60. Lučić), Stamenić (from 70. Ado) , Kangva (from 78. Kabić), Mitrović (from 60. Azarov), Ivanić (from 60. Šljivić), Olanjinka (from 46. Nedeljković), Kraso (from 60. Mijatović).

Fiorentina: Teracano (from 46. Cerofolini), Dodo (from 73. Kayode), Biragi, Kvarta (from 46. Milenkovic), Ranieri, Duncan (from 46. Artur), Mandragora, Sabiri, Jović (from 46. Cabral), Bonaventura (from 59. Brekalo), Icons (from 59. Castrovili).

The captain of today's match due to the absence of Dragović was Mirko Ivanić, and the start was preceded by the presentation of the jersey with number 9 to Luka Jović by our legends Vladimir Petrović and Dušan Savić. From the first referee's whistle, the atmosphere seemed as if the final of the Champions League was being played, and not a friendly match, so it can be said that Zvezda on the wings of the fans made a "blitzkrieg" against Fiorentina in six minutes and scored three goals. Namely, first, in the ninth minute, Peter Olanjinka played excellent pressing and took the ball away from Kvarta, and found himself in front of Teraćan and routinely defeated him. Then, in the 11th minute, Mijailović sent a sharp pass down the middle for Ivanić, who turned, roared towards the goal and set up Jean-Philippe Craso, and the attacker from the Ivory Coast precisely checked Teraćan. But that wasn't all from Zvezda either, and it seemed that the Marakana would explode in the 14th minute when Olanjinka passed the ball to Mirko Ivanić, and he managed to find space for Teraćan's goal from ten meters away, through a "forest" of legs.

Kangwa almost missed a goal in the 16th minute after Bukari's cross, but he shot over the crossbar from running up. However, it didn't take long for a new goal, considering the action from the 23rd minute when Ivanić passed on the right side and crossed for Mitrović, who passed to Peter Olanjinka, and the Nigerian striker was once again fatal for the visitors' goalkeeper. Zvezda was so dominant that even the famous curse that a player who has been fouled cannot take a penalty could not do anything to Osman Bukari who was stopped in the 27th minute and then scored from 11 meters. By the end of the half, Zvezda had two 100% chances, first in the 32nd minute, Olanjinka came out in front of Teraćan, and then Mitrović reacted to the deflection, and the ball was saved on the goal line by Dodo. But two minutes later, Zvezda threatened again from the counter, and Bukari crossed straight to Kraso, whose header was stopped by the post. Olanjinka also had a chance in the 44th minute when he could beat Teraćan again, but he shot wide. There is no doubt, this was one of the best halves of Red Star, so it can be said freely in the 21st century.

He received Kraso applause from the entire Maracana in the 52nd minute when, on two occasions, he lucidly played Bukhari, but the Ghanaian was first blocked and then shot over the crossbar. In the sequel, the tempo dropped, Bahar shuffled the cards, and the actors of the match, even those in red and white jerseys, received thunderous applause at every contact with the ball. There were a large number of young players on the field who for the first time in their careers had the opportunity to play in front of so many fans, which will undoubtedly mean a lot in their further development. From the start, the audience at the Maracana had the opportunity to applaud the returner Degenek, and then at the finish the newcomer Kabić, who made his debut for Crvena zvezda. Until the end of the match, Nedeljkovic, Mijatovic and Lucic had chances, but the result set in the 27th minute did not change. The guests had the best chance in the 87th minute when Cabral came out in front of Popovic, but our reserve net keeper showed that the team can always rely on him and read the Fiorentina striker's shot in a timely manner.

There is no doubt that after such a football rhapsody, Zvezda deserves a full Maracana on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. when we welcome Vojvodina at the start of the Serbian Super League.