After a fantastic start to their Europa League campaign, defeating Fenerbahce 4-1 at Maksimir, Dinamo Zagreb furthered their chances of advancing from the group stages with a complete 2-0 victory over RSC Anderlecht.
Anderlecht have been struggling as of late, and came into the match against Dinamo winning only one of their last seven matches.
Dinamo took the lead in the 19th minute after Izet Hajrović converted a penalty after fellow Bosnian Ognjen Vranješ was show a yellow card for a clumsy challenge in the box.
The Modri stayed strong and held the 1-0 lead into the half.
The second half was a dream start for Dinamo as Vranješ saw his second yellow of the game in the opening minute of the restart, dropping the hosts to 10 men. The ensuing free kick nearly doubled Dinamo’s lead if it wasn’t for a brilliant save from Thomas Didillon.
A near chance was once again thwarted by Didillon, who nearly brought the ball into his own net, however goal line technology showed millimeters were between the ball and the end of the line, keeping the score 1-0.
Anderlecht pressured Dinamo despite the man disadvantage, but Dinamo were finally able to capitalize with the extra man when Amir Gojak found the net in the 68th minute.
Dinamo center back Kevin Theophile-Catherine was sent off in the 92nd minute for his second yellow card, which resulted from an unnecessary and clumsy tackle just outside the penalty area. Theophile-Catherine viably regretted his decision to commit to such a tackle so late in the match, but his apologies won’t help as he is now suspended for the next Europa League match in Slovakia against Spartak Trnava.
The 2-0 win came on the 11th anniversary to the day when Dinamo Zagreb earned a win away to Ajax in the 2007 Europa League, where goals were scored by Luka Modrić and Mario Mandzukić to earn a 3-2 win.
Dinamo will now trek through five consecutive away matches in all competitions, including a trip to Slovakia for the aforementioned Europa League tie.
@Maminjo – good post on last names. People are talking like Santini moved to Cro yesterday from Italy. He’s Croatian through and through with an Italian family member a zillion years ago.
No one is 100% anything especially Croatians if we’re going to constantly go back so many generations. I understand the argument if you become naturalized after so many years but not for having a different last name. I guess Schildenfeld should have never played for Cro either with that logic?
He is a good coach because he took a GARBAGE Austria Vienna side to the Champions League a few years ago, AND came only one point shy of making it to the Knockout Rounds.
That group wasn’t easy either. They were drawn with Atletico Madrid, Porto and Zenit (when Zenit had Hulk and Witsel in their prime). The entire Austrian league has never sniffed success like that in the Champions League.
If this is the weakest Dinamo team in years, then it’s a testament to how good of a coach Bjelica is. Dinamo is just one win away from clinching a Europa knockout round berth for the first time ever.
Considering how cursed Dinamo is in European competition (when they are usually the first team eliminated from any tournament), this is amazing.
No one spoke about Nenad Bjelica for years he was a below average player now hes suddenly a great coach because of Dinamo Zagreb’s wins. By the way this is probably the weakest Dinamo Zagreb team ever in European competition that we have ever seen. Halilovic is Bosnian also Srna.
Are you guys for real?
Are you really implying that Ivan Santini is not Croatian, because one of his ancestors on his father’s side did not change their last name?
Ivan Santini is a 6’3”, blonde goofy-looking Croat. He’s from Zadar, and so are his parents and his grandparents. His great grandfather didn’t change his last name…so now that makes Ivan an Italian, lol.
I bet you there are Croats on the National Team with way more Italian blood than Santini (or other nationalities) but I guess it’s really all about overwriting the last name despite most common Croat last names probably coming from somewhere else anyway (i.e. Tudor, Despot, Leko, Car, etc).
Nenad Bjelica’s grandfather came from Crna Gora and settled in Osijek, so I guess that makes Nenad a Crnogorac (ignoring the rest of his family lineage and him being a third generation Slavonac). The dude has never even been to Crna Gora, lol.
Even Giovanni Rossi was only one-quarter Italian (his father’s father), but since they kept passing down that first name, he pretty much became 100% Italian in most people’s eyes, as a result of both the first and last name being Italian, lol.
However, if the foreign family comes from the MOTHER’s side, (like Robert Prosinecki, Boris Zivkovic, or Ivan Ljubicic) then there would be no discussion. It’s all about the last name, lol.
I was joking but he is of Italian descent.
Always keep an eye on these irredentists.
santini was born in zadar you phag
International football is turning into club football already with Brazilians and Spanish players getting foreign passports. We already have a Italian on the team Santini.
We have already had this debate with Eduardo Alves Da Silva he married a Croatian woman from Zagreb also spoke the language played for Dinamo Zagreb. He couldnt make the Brazilian national team so he just used the Croatian national team to progress his career. He never cared about Croatia same goes for Olmo.
@Zee-He may be a fine, young, non-croatian man. I don’t know & I don’t care. This isn’t club football.
Iggy-France can keep that trophy, and their no go zones.
I dont care where you’re born if your ethnically Hrvat; former captain of aus Ned Zelic said he bleeds the checkers, and that’s what i expect from Hrvati, wherever they are born. I find it hard to believe that someone who is foreign can care as much as our actual boys.
But then again i guess France won the WC with a united African super-team so maybe those guys care about France too, or maybe they just won despite being indifferent about France.
The question isnt does helive there or speak the language; the question is does he care, REALLY care, does he BLEED red and white checkers as true Hrvati do, like our boys did during this WC? Is he capable of that and if not, do we want him on the team?
@BZ. Totally disagree. Olmo lives and speaks Croatian better than probably we do. His neighbours love him and he looks like anybody who lives in zagreb grad. He’s a fine young man.
An environment with Mamic won Dinamo many league titles, although they did struggle in Europe.
Agree with Maminjo, Bjelica is a very good coach.
Pretty good group too, Fenerbache 14th in Turkey and Anderlecht struggling at the moment, but take nothing away from Dinamo for making hay while the sun shines, they wouldn’t have even did that in the past.
Please cap Olmo on the Spain senior team! I want no part of that homo sapien! Can you imagine a passionate spanish style drama queen wanting to start over
Perisic
Rebic
Vlasic
Brekalo
Kramaric
Pjaca
Halilovic
Locker room would be as bitter as it was when we had the brazilians!
is bjelica solid or do we finally see a environment without mamic
Pulisic is already gone. He’s been capped by America. The slimeball just used his grandfather’s heritage to get a passport and be able to play in Germany without a work permit. He’s a goof.
Stanisic was pressured by Bayern to choose Germany is what I heard.
The only reason Olmo would’ve ever considered Croatia is if he felt he wouldn’t be given opportunity to represent Spain at senior level, but now that a lot of big clubs are showing interest in Olmo I don’t expect Spain will let bim slip through to Croatia.
Olmo’s choice will have nothing to do with the 6-0 scoreline and everything to do with playing.
Don’t forget Pusilic to. We are hemorrhaging
Talent. The next Zlatan could be lost.
Better to lose 6-0 in Nations League group
Match than to Russia in World Cup.
Also in 2012 Spain goal was offside and they
Fouled Corluka and we beat them in 2016 so
There. We lost Stanisc to Germany. Can’t let this happen.
Dinamo Academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa2E3ET_sk0
Would olmo rather play for winning or losing team of a 6-0 game?
Nice job Dinamo developing players for other countries.
Bjelica does it again. I said it before and I’ll say it again, Bjelica is a very, very solid coach.
2-0 Dinamo
Anderlecht down to 10 men
I meant Santini. Type-o.
Olmo accepts invite to Spain U21s.
I mean Ivan Santini and friends!
Livaja plays in Greece for AEK. You must mean Lovre Kalinic and friends!
Hajduk given toughest punishment ever for the pyrotechnics display against Dinamo – four games without fans allowed at Poljud.