old stager mladen krstajić urged his young colleagues at fk partizan to "be calm and collected" as sc braga visit belgrade looking to put an end to the serbian champions' european hopes.
defender mladen krstajić has warned his younger fk partizan team-mates that "much is expected of them" as the serbian champions go into a must-win game against sc braga in uefa champions league group h.
a 2-0 loss in portugal on matchday 3 kept aleksandar stanojević's men point-less in the group, and their chances of playing in europe in the spring will likely disappear unless they get three points in belgrade. a seasoned uefa champions league campaigner from his time at fc schalke 04, krstajić knows the pressure is on and hopes his colleagues will not shrink in the spotlight.
"they are aware that much is expected of them," said the 36-year-old, who won a bundesliga title and a german cup with sv werder bremen. "it is true that there is no great pressure on us to achieve in the champions league this year, but we will have to take more risks than in previous games and at the same time be careful in defence. the less experienced players should be calm and collected, and focus on the good of the team."
the defeat on matchday 3 came despite partizan dominating possession at the picturesque estádio municipal de braga, and the 2009/10 liga runners-up's ability to hare forward on the break was not lost on krstajić. "they have quick strikers and are strong on the counter," the centre-back said. "if we lose the ball in midfield, three or four players can be in on goal in a moment. we need to stay tight on them."
domingos paciência's men made an impression on the 59-cap serbian international, yet he does not doubt that – if they get everything right – partizan can beat the arsenalistas. "braga have a fantastic team," he said. "however, regardless of what happened two weeks ago, we think we can deal with them. this time we need more concentration. and here in belgrade, we will have to take more chances."
a towering moisés header proved the difference as braga completed the double over their hosts in group h.
sc braga secured a second successive win against fk partizan thanks to moisés's solitary strike to stay in the race for the group h qualifying berths and condemn the home side to last place.
it was an accomplished victory that owed everything to defensive resolve and midfield discipline. the portuguese side broke ranks to create the game's best opportunities as well but had to settle for just a single goal as moisés dispatched a header from a free-kick with impressive power.
the home crowd did their best to whip up some fervour among their players with their raucous anthems and incessant chanting and while the decibel level barely waned, frustration began to set in as braga contained the hosts in a finely observed game plan.
quick to close down the man on the ball and cover any gaps, the visitors stayed well within their comfort zone in the opening half as they bided their time before attempting to catch partizan on the counterattack.
however, their evening was threatening to become one of missed opportunities. luis aguiar and paulo césar found themselves with plenty of room to size up a shot but both were too hurried in their attempts and each time the ball ballooned over.
then in the 35th minute the visitors found a route to goal as aguiar swung a free-kick to the right-hand side of the penalty area where moisés climbed to place a perfect header into the top corner of vladimir stojković's net.
it took the home side – who have still to score a goal from open play in the competition and have failed to register a uefa champions league victory in ten attempts – a long while to muster anything of equal threat. early on, cléo accepted an incisive pass from radosav petrović but while his work in defeating his marker was good, the execution lacked conviction.
the second period followed a predictable pattern with partizan sending increasing numbers forward in pursuit of an equaliser while braga closed ranks to keep them out. in the 59th minute, the energetic ivica iliev tried to take advantage of a goalmouth scramble but failed to seriously test felipe.
with ten minutes remaining almami moreira popped up at the far post but could not beat the keeper. an increasingly desperate partizan then saw petrović head over the top before lifting a clear opening too high as their fourth defeat was confirmed.
yardımcı hakemler: fredrik nilsson (swe), henrik andren (swe)
4. hakem: martin strömbergson (swe)
çizgi hakemleri: martin ingvarsson (swe), michael lerjeus (swe)
partizan: vladimir stojković (gk), aleksandar miljković, radosav petrović, cléo, almami moreira, pierre boya (dk. 59 stefan babović), marko jovanović, aleksandar lazevski, mladen krstajić (c), saša ilić, ivica iliev (dk. 78 marko šćepović)
yedekler: radiša ilić (gk), medo, stefan savić, aleksandar davidov, milan smiljanić
teknik direktör: aleksandar stanojević (srb)
braga: felipe (gk), alberto rodríguez, moisés, mossoró (dk. 51 leandro salino), paulo césar, elderson, luis aguiar, sílvio, alan (dk. 68 andrés madrid), vandinho (c), matheus (dk. 88 lima)
yedekler: artur (gk), hugo viana, aníbal capela, elton
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