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 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.
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