Shakhtar beats Partizan 1-0 in Champions League

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP)—Shakhtar Donetsk captain Dario Srna’s second-half free kick Wednesday gave the Ukraine champions a 1-0 victory over Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League.
Shakhtar dominated the game and squandered numerous chances in the Group cheap nfl jerseys
H match before Srna drove home a 30-yard free kick in the 71st minute.
Partizan set out to defend aggressively and goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic impressed with several saves. But Shakhtar, through its skillful Brazilian players, played neat attacking football and always looked like winning.
Partizan was limited to a couple of long-range efforts that were easily saved.
Shakhtar made a lively start to the game but only carved out its first chance in the 28th minute: Srna fired a cross into the box, Luis Adriano’s shot on the turn was parried by Stojkovic, who also blocked the rebound from Oleksiy Hai.
Shakhtar turned the pressure up further in the second half, with Srna instrumental.
Brazilian midfielder Jadson was put through on goal in the 55th minute but his shot was easily blocked by Stojkovic.
Srna then beat his man on the right in the 67th minute and Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
played a perfect cross to Luis Adriano in space, but the Brazilian’s header was superbly tipped over by Stojkovic.
Partizan’s Cleo tried a neat chip over goalkeeper Oleksandr Kucher after had missed the ball in the 70th minute in a rare attack for the visitors.
The outstanding Stojkovic was finally beaten by Srna’s powerfully struck free kick into the bottom corner.
A couple of long-range drives from Partizan brought smart saves from Kucher. But Shakhtar looked more likely to add to its lead, with Hai hitting the post in the 90th minute.
DONETSK, Ukraine (AFP) - Shakhtar Donetsk shrugged off the loss of influential Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho to defeat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 in their Champions League Group H opener.
Croatian international Darijo Srna scored the only goal from a direct free-kick on 71 minutes to give the Ukraine side another home win over the Serbs, having defeated them 4-1 in the Europa Leage last season.
Fernandinho will miss the entire group stage after breaking his leg at Minnesota Vikings jersey
Obolon Kyiv on Friday.
Despite that setback, Shakhtar were still too good for a Partizan side who are unbeaten in 37 Serbian Super League matches.