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Anderlecht draws 2-2 with Partizan in playoff

Anderlecht took the lead in the 54^th minute when Guillaume Gillet headed in a perfect cross by Jan Lecjaks. Partizan equalized in the 57^th as its Brazilian forward Cleo beat Anderlecht goalkeeper with a close-range lob.

The Serbian champions, aiming to reach their first Champions League since 2003 when they were coached by Germany great Lothar Matthaeus, went ahead in the 64^th when Lecjaks scored a spectacular own goal while trying to clear a cross, but fired the ball under the bar.

But Juhasz salvaged a draw with a simple tap-in in the 66^th after a neat backheel by substitute Kanu.

Anderlecht controlled most of the match with its midfielder Mbarak Boussoufa particularly influential. The first chance for the Belgian team came in the eighth minute when Jan Polak’s header went close.

Partizan opened the match playing nervously despite boisterous support from its 33,000 fans at the packed Yugoslav Peoples’ Army stadium. In the second half, the Serbian champions created a couple of good opportunities, but shots by defender Radosav Petrovic and midfielder Sasa Ilic were saved by Anderlecht goalie Silvio Proto.

“Anderlecht is physically and probably psychologically a better team than us, but I’m happy the way we played,” Partizan coach Aleksandar Stanojevic said. “In Brussels next week, we’ll go for a victory.”