Ten-man Partizan power to Augsburg win
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Article summary
Augsburg 1-3 Partizan
Andrija Živković, 19, struck twice as the Serbian champions made it two wins in two despite playing the last 26 minutes with ten men.
Article top media content
Article body
- Partizan earn second Group L win in Augsburg's first European home fixture
- The Serbian champions end run of seven straight defeats in Germany
- Andrija Živković, 19, takes tally to three UEFA Europa League goals this term
- Augsburg suffer seventh defeat in ten matches this season
- Next games: AZ v Augsburg, Partizan v Athletic (22 October)
Partizan went into this campaign without a UEFA Europa League win in 12 outings, but two goals from Andrija Živković helped them complete back-to-back victories in Group L, this time at the expense of Augsburg.
Živković, a scorer in the 3-2 victory over AZ Alkmaar a fortnight ago, continued his rich vein of form as his second of the night quickly dampened wasteful Augsburg's hopes of a comeback amid a frenetic start to the second half. Even the dismissal of Aleksandar Subić two minutes later could not revive the hosts.
The Bavarians had chances, though, to put domestic problems behind them and mark their first European home game in style. Most fell to Raúl Bobadilla, whose robust frame and destructive running caused problems throughout, without garnering full reward.
A 13th-minute opening proved portentous as the striker met Ji Dong-Won's cross with the goalkeeper beaten, but his well-struck volley was straight at the one obstacle in his way: Subić. Živković, just 19, showed him how it is done. On 31 minutes he collected Stefan Babović's long ball, stepped inside Hong Jeon-Ho and lashed in a low, left-footed shot.
Augsburg came back hard, with Markus Weinzierl's double half-time change almost paying immediate dividends as the substitutes combined, Philipp Max's deep cross finding Alexander Esswein; Živko Živković saved well. He did so again moments later to deny Bobadilla – an equaliser looked a matter of time.
It never came. On 54 minutes Andrija Živković's corner was flicked on towards Ji Dong-Won, whose inadvertent goal-bound kick brushed Fabrício on its way in. Bobadilla soon hit back, but a third goal in nine minutes proved decisive as Živković drove in his second of the game via a deflection.
x