Partizan
Last season, Partizan finished in second place in the Serbian Championship, trailing their main rival, Red Star Belgrade, by 18 points. In preparation for the new season, the Belgrade team played a series of friendly matches, which were unimpressive, and the level of their opponents was quite low.
In the ongoing Serbian SuperLiga, the “black and whites” started successfully. In the first round, the team narrowly defeated Napredak 1-0 away. Last weekend, they also thrashed Jedinstvo 4-0 on the road. However, in the Champions League clash with Dynamo, the Serbians were entirely unremarkable. Even the two goals that Partizan scored were essentially gifted by Dynamo themselves.
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Dynamo Kyiv
Last season, Dynamo once again failed to challenge Shakhtar Donetsk in the championship. Although, technically, the Kyiv team finished the season only two points behind the “orange and blacks.” However, it should be noted that Shakhtar, having secured the gold medals, simply coasted through the last two rounds, earning just one point.
Dynamo did a good job in the off-season, playing five friendly matches. During this period, the “white and blues” suffered only one defeat against Union Berlin, while they defeated Mamelodi Sundowns and Brøndby, and drew against Schalke and Paderborn. In the first match against Partizan, Dynamo’s attacking players exploited the open spaces in the defense and completely tore apart their opponents.
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