HNL Week 1: Hajduk’s Bad Week Continues

The new SuperSport HNL season has gotten underway this weekend with some amazing matches and results. Dinamo beat Slaven Belupo 2-0 to start the opening weekend; Lokomotiva and Osijek followed the same path as they beat Istra and Gorica, respectively. On Sunday, Varaždin beat travelling Hajduk Split in a game of two halves, after which Rijeka took care of newly promoted Rudeš.

Dinamo 2-0 Slaven Belupo: Stojković brings new life to team

Dinamo (4-1-4-1): Filipović- Tabinas, Galešić, Radeljić, Vinlof – Mišić – Topić, Kačavenda, Stojković, Hoxha – Beljo

Slaven Belupo (4-2-3-1): Sentić – Urata, Cvetko, Kovačić, Krušelj – Adeshina, Crepulja – Banovec, Mažar, Mitrović – Nestorovski

Mario Kovačević started the opening league match with eight changes in the starting line-up from the second leg vs. Thun in midweek. Mario Gregurina had to work around missing six players due to injury, not the way you want to start the season.

The first goal almost came from the guests in the 7th minute, as Ivan Filipović first had to stop Josip Mitrović and then Adetunji Adeshina. Then Dinamo started threatening; in the 17th minute, Karlo Sentić had to stop Arber Hoxha, who was left all alone on the left side of the box. But 17 minutes later, Sentić was no match for Dion Drena Beljo. The first touch from last season’s top goalscorer looked bad at first, as it went high, but Beljo did a brilliant drop-kick and scored. Fantastic instincts.

Dinamo’s star striker had two more chances right before the break; the first wasn’t too precise, and Sentić comfortably parried it away. Then, just seconds before the whistle, Beljo dribbled the ball inside from the right wing and hit the crossbar with an amazing shot that wasn’t meant to be. However, in the 2nd half, it didn’t take long for Beljo to have another chance. Luka Stojković played an exquisite through ball for his striker, who was left one-on-one with Sentić, and Beljo never misses those. 2-0.

Dinamo had a couple more chances and hit the post twice. First, Stjepan Radeljić hit the woodwork in the 57th, and Oršić followed suit in the 86th. Dinamo opened the new season with a win, while Slaven only really had that one early chance.

Istra 1961 2-3 Lokomotiva: Lokomotiva stop youthful Istra

Istra (4-2-3-1): Kolić – Hrvatin, Nasraoui, Miettinen, Šepić – Albarracin, Kablar – Frederiksen, Šaranić, Škafar Žužić – Jaganjac

Lokomotiva (4-2-3-1): Posavec – Lorber, Triantafyllou, Jukić, Pajač – Katić, Subotić – Vuković, Vasilj, Sušak – Marić 

Istra manager Javier Cabello fielded one of the youngest starting XIs in HNL history, with an average age of 21.0; the youngest in the last 10 years! And that youthfulness almost paid off, as Ivan Šaranić was very involved in the opening 15 minutes, taking three shots, none of which troubled Josip Posavec. Then, against the run of play, right after a hydration break, Lokomotiva took the lead after a cross caused chaos in the box, which left Athanasios Triantafyllou at the top of the box, and the Greek scored on his debut.

But the hosts had other ideas. U17 international Nik Škafar Žužić took the ball down the inside-right channel, cut inside and pulled it back for an unmarked Emil Frederiksen, who equalised with a great finish off the post. And just four minutes later, the 17-year-old scored a beauty from outside the box; sadly ruled out for offside, as Frederiksen, in an offside position, was judged to have been in Posavec’s field of vision during Žužić’s shot.

Šaranić had another chance, which he put wide in the 41st minute from 11 meters out. And that was a shame for Istra, as on the other side right after, Dušan Vuković punished that miss. The Montenegrin scored with a splendid finish into the bottom left corner, and it was 1-2 at the end of the first half.

Istra equalised again in the 58th minute after Šaranić had another shot, which was saved this time, and the rebound fell to a lurking Frederiksen, who scored his 2nd of the match. Last season’s Sesvete star was threatening again in the 72nd minute, but Posavec brilliantly stopped him. Istra really were creating a lot more and had Lokomotiva in their grasp, but when you don’t take your chances…

In the 90th minute, Marko Pajač swung in a corner which reached Ivan Katić all the way on the far post, and his shot went just over the line before Kolić could swat it away. It wasn’t given at first, but VAR brought the referee to the monitor to review the play, which was…eerily similar to Croatia’s disallowed goal vs. Portugal. But this time, Triantafyllou didn’t touch the ball; at least we can’t tell, since there’s no sensor. But the goal was given, and all three points went to Zagreb.

The main talking point, apart from VAR, of the match was the brilliant performances by 17-year-old Nik Škafar Žužić and Lokomotiva’s 18-year-old captain, Matija Subotić. Both played amazing games and hopefully continue to improve, as they have bright futures.

Gorica 0-2 Osijek: Domination from Osijek

Gorica (4-4-2): Matijaš – Braut, Perić, Filipović, Cvijanović – Bogojević, Bakić, Pavičić, Kavelj – Gashi, Mijić

Osijek (4-1-3-2):  Malenica – Jurišić, Jelenić, Kolarik, Mustafić – Vrbančić – Omerović, Ježić, Bukvić – Dolček, Balelo

Federico Bessone started a surprising XI, but it immediately paid off as Ivan Dolček cut inside from the right and scored a delightful goal to give Osijek the lead. This came after all the drama in preseason off the pitch, with club president Alexandra Vegh being investigated for conflict of interest, and spokesperson Mario Mihić receiving a warning before his dismissal amid the scandal. Osijek started the first game of the season flying regardless.

And it continued; seven minutes after Dolček’s opener, the guests got a penalty and Nail Omerović put it away. It was the perfect debut for the Argentine manager. The domination continued throughout the game; Omerović hit the post in the 35th. Gorica had a real chance just seconds later: debutant Patrik Mijić was one-on-one with Marko Malenica, but he shot just past the target. A massive miss, and Gorica didn’t threaten again in the game.

The second half can be summarised as Davor Matijaš turning into prime Buffon to stop the game from getting out of hand. Mario Carević, in the press conference after the match, sent a clear message to those above him that the team needs multiple signings: “In some positions, we simply don’t have enough quality for the top division.”

Varaždin 2-1 Hajduk: Idealess Hajduk

Varaždin (4-2-3-1): Silić – Maglica, Punčec, Škaričić, Sikošek – Marina, Mamić – Latković, Canjuga, Tavares – Mamut

Hajduk (4-2-3-1): Silić – Acapandie, Gabrić, Hoorenbeeck, Hrgović – Del Moral, Pajaziti – Šego, Pukštas, Melnjak – Livaja

After both teams suffered upsetting European 2nd leg losses, they got to play in the unbearable heat in Varaždin during the day. The first half reflected that: it was very slow, particularly from Hajduk, and there were almost no clear-cut chances. The hosts were the better side in the first 45. Iuri Tavares was the most lively player, getting one good shot off in the 34th minute that was saved by Toni Silić. Other than that, nada. Hajduk had just one shot in the entire half, and that’s easily explained because they were giving the ball away so easily under zero pressure.

Young Roko Gabrić was the most noticeable, as he misplaced 43% of the passes he tried into the opposition half. It was obvious something was wrong, and Gonzalo Garcia made four substitutions at the break (Šotiček, Marešić, Bamba and Dalisson). After that, Hajduk looked more lively, but it was Varaždin who struck first. Ivan Canjuga crossed in a free-kick from the left-hand side, and Marko Mladenovski rose highest to give his team the lead.

But celebrations from the home end lasted a full minute before the match got back underway, and Rokas Pukštas was allowed so much space people would think he had COVID and the Varaždin defence was social distancing. The American slotted in a perfect low finish into the opposite corner past Josip Silić to tie it up. Varaždin got the lead back just six minutes later, after Livaja played a poor pass back to his defence.

Mamut pressed the ball all the way to the keeper, who passed the ball back to Van Hoorenbeeck, who tried dribbling forward, but Varaždin’s midfield moved up while Hajduk’s stayed in attack. So the defender turned back and went to pass to Silić, despite having an open Marešić on the right side. But Pajaziti was in the middle of that pass, and the ball landed at Luka Mamić’s feet, who was all alone in front of the keeper, for 2-1. Pure Hajduk shenanigans to summarise it.

Ivan Mamut had a chance to end the game, but missed a one-on-one in the 76th. Then Hajduk, who failed to create anything other than that Pukštas goal, got a penalty in the 90th minute. Bamba got tripped in the box; not given at first, even though Kolarić was standing RIGHT IN FRONT of the tackle. But VAR exists, and Kolarić corrected his error, funnily enough having to watch himself in the same replay to do it.

The captain, Livaja, took the ball and shot for the keeper’s right. Josip Silić read him and gave Varaždin the big win to start the season. It was a very disappointing performance from Hajduk, who look like a shell of the team that destroyed Pafos at Poljud just 10 days ago. But it was all capped off with a shameful act from their ultras, Torcida, who set the away stand on fire before leaving for the long journey home.

SRAMOTA

Truly shameful from Torcida as they lit the away stand on fire after the match vs. Varaždin.

This comes after they boycotted the match because of high prices, which Varaždin lowered after their complaints. pic.twitter.com/cCVjwYUlm1

— Croatian Football  (@CroatiaFooty) August 2, 2026

Rijeka 2-1 Rudeš: Fruk and Dantas Run the Show

Rijeka (4-2-3-1): Todorović – Lasickas, Majstorović, Barco, Devetak – Dantas, Pavić – Rukavina, Fruk, Janković – Adu-Adjei

Rudeš (3-5-1-1): Rogić – Curcio, Stolnik, Celjak – Sušak, Živulić, Đorić, Fernandes, Kolega – Blaganić – Poldrugač

Rudeš returned to the HNL with a very old squad, 29.1 years on average. But most of these players have experience in the top flight — the only issue is that most of them were relegated with their previous clubs. And the lack of quality showed. Rijeka had chance after chance while Rudeš struggled to cross the halfway line.

The first chance worth noting was Adu-Adjei’s shot from 8m out being saved by Lovre Rogić in the 27th minute. Just 4 minutes later, another chance for Rijeka: Toni Fruk crossed the ball from the left byline and found right-back Justas Lasickas, who delivered a perfect volley to give the hosts the lead. After that, it was mostly the same story: Rudeš defending while Matjaž Kek’s boys tried to find a way through.

In the 62nd minute, Daniel Adu-Adjei got a good ball from Tiago Dantas and got off a good left-footed finish past Rogić for 2-0. And while everybody thought the game was done, in the 70th minute Rudeš capitalised as Lenny Ilečić dribbled down the right wing and pulled it back for a free Stefan Vukić, who delivered a perfect finish into the bottom left corner. The result remained unchanged for the rest of the game.

Toni Fruk had 8 key passes and Tiago Dantas had 7. Fruk also won 70% of his duels and showed once again why he’s been one of the best players in the league for years. As for Rudeš… well, they aren’t at that level, and the result flattered them massively.