A chat with last night`s hero Popovic

Partizan won Dunajska Streda 3-0 on aggregate and reach Conference League round 3 as a result. Young keeper Aleksandar Popovic was out there to replace departed Stojkovic and turned into game`s hero, saving a penalty-kick on 78.

“There`s always pressure when you play for Partizan, especially when you go between the posts to replace such club legend. It`s always about wins here, nothing else counts”, said Popovic.

21-year-old saved a penalty from Croat Andrija Balic.

“I don`t want to highlight my performance, it`s the next game that matters now. We will celebrate tonight but we start looking towards Vozdovac game tomorrow. I did penalty analysis with goalie coach Jovsic and I had pretty much the idea how Balic is going to shot, it was just about good timing”.

Dunajska Streda was more aggressive compared to Belgrade`s game but Partizan kept another clean sheet still.

“European games are always uncomfortable. We had first leg advantage and we knew we had to be patient. After we scored, we were in our pace and everything was going our way”.

For a round 3, Partizan was drawn to one of the toughest opponents at this stage, Russians Sochi.

“It won`t be easy. Russians are always firm but we have enough experience within this team. We played against many Russian teams in our recent pre-seasons and I fancy our chances to go through to the play-off stage. We can play against just anyone”. Said Aleksandar Popovic.