the semi finals, before going on to win the cup during the 1972–73 season as well as finishing as runners up in the league. They finished as runners up the following season in both the league and cup, before failing to reach the final of the cup or finish in the top 2 of the league until 1979 which is when they managed to win their 11th league title ahead of local rivals KF Tirana. They then faced Scottish champions Celtic in the European Cup whom they defeated 1–0 in Tiranë. Once again Albania's communist regime made it difficult for foreign clubs to enter and play in Albania, and it took Celtic over 2 months to acquire visas for their players and staff and they were unable to acquire visas for press and a small number of supporters. The return leg ended in disappointment for Partizani as despite opening the scoring they lost 4–1, meaning they lost the tie 4–2 on aggregate. Partizani once again failed to challenge for the title the following season, as they could only manage a 4th-place finish, but they won the cup after beating Labinoti Elbasan 2–1 on aggregate in the final. They qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup and faced Swedish side Malmö FF whom they narrowly lost 1–0 on aggregate following a 1–0 loss in Malmö and a goalless draw in Tiranë. The club won the 1980–81 National Championship ahead of Dinamo and KF Tirana, meaning they qualified for the European Cup where they faced Austrian side Austria Wien whom they lost 3–2 on aggregate to following a disappointing 3–1 first leg away loss and a 1–0 home win. The club had to wait until 1987 for their next trophy, which came in the shape of the National Championship which they won ahead of Flamurtari Vlorë. They faced Portuguese champions Benfica in an infamous first leg in Lisbon that saw Partizani lose 4–0 and end the game with 7 men as 4 players were sent off including goalkeeper and captain Perlat Musta. Partizani were punished by UEFA for the incidents, and they were knocked out of the competition following a walkover victory for Benfica in what would have been the second leg, and they were also banned from Europe for 4 years. Partizani finished 9th in the 1987–88 campaign, which was their lowest ever finish in the league and they also missed out