HNL Week 13: MMA Weekend As Hajduk & Dinamo Both Win!

A brilliant 13th round of the SuperSport HNL is behind us as we head into the last international break of 2026. There were red cards (quite a lot of them), goals, more goals and late winners. Mario Carević also got sacked by Gorica, but before that, Rudeš got yet ANOTHER win!

Lokomotiva 0-1 Rudeš: El Haddad Penalty Lifts Rudeš Clear of the Drop Zone

Lokomotiva (4-2-3-1): Posavec – Katić (subbed on 80. Antunović), Triantafyllou, Čabraja, Čabrajić – Subotić (subbed on 72. Lorber), Fetai – Kulušić (subbed on 61. Vasilj), Atabaev (subbed on 72. Sahli), Vuković – Marić

Rudeš (3-4-2-1): Rogić – Bralić, Stolnik, Zebić – Unušić (subbed on 86. Taraba), Đorić, Skoko (subbed on 66. Xavi), Curcio – Poldrugač (subbed on 46. Haddad), Seitz (subbed on 76. Popović) – Junior Fernandes (subbed on 76. Saho)

Around a hundred fans turned up at Maksimir on a dry Friday evening, a big jump from the previous Lokomotiva home game against Osijek, which only had six in attendance. A group of kids from Rudeš tried their very best to create an ultras atmosphere with a drum. But they were no match for a group of Italians, who were friends of Rudeš’s Saad El Haddad, who came on in the second half.

There was a surprise on the Lokomotiva team sheet. Leon Belcar was missing, and Nikica Jelavić said afterwards it wasn’t an injury but purely his own decision. The sheet also suggested a back three of two full backs and one centre-back, but Jelavić actually stuck with a 4-2-3-1 and put Katić at right-back, as Vešović was suspended. The young midfielder adapted well to the new role.

Lokomotiva were the better side for the first 20 minutes, working the ball through the middle with short passes before looking to attack mostly down the left. However, Rudeš had the first big chance in the 21st minute. Zebić stole the ball in the centre, broke down the right and whipped in a cross, and after a few deflections it fell back to him. He shot hard from five metres, but Posavec reacted with one hand to save it. Subotić shot over in the 25th, and five minutes later Lokomotiva broke quickly on a counter, with Vuković’s shot read by Rogić. Marić went close with a header from an Atabaev cross in the 33rd, but the ball flew over the bar.

Rudeš brought on Haddad at half-time, and he changed the game, much to the delight of his friends in the western stand. His pace troubled the Lokomotiva centre-backs, and he put several dangerous crosses into the box, but no teammate read his intention. Curcio had the clearest chance of the afternoon in the 54th. Đorić played him in, and he found himself alone in front of goal but didn’t connect properly with the ball and blazed it over.

Rudeš were braver in the second half, taking control of possession and looking to play forward more, and Lokomotiva struggled to respond yet again. The decisive moment came in the 78th minute. Haddad was too quick for the Lokomotiva defence, and Fetai brought him down in the box. Referee Ante Terzić pointed straight to the spot, and Haddad stepped up and scored from 11 metres for the only goal of the game. Delirium ensued with his friends in the stands, who were clearly overjoyed to see their friend score the winner.

Rudeš won 1-0 at Maksimir, their second straight win after beating Dinamo, and the team spirit under Alen Peternac was clear, with the whole bench jumping on every attack. They move up to seventh with 16 points. A brilliant run of form that nobody could’ve predicted: 4 wins out of 5 is a ridiculous run for Rudeš, who won just one match the last time they were in the top tier.

Lokomotiva stay 9th on 11 points, four ahead of Gorica, and are very much in a relegation fight, much to the surprise of me and others. Nikica Jelavić has been unable to recreate anything good from last season, and if results don’t pick up ahead of the winter break, it could see him out of a job. And the schedule is anything but favourable to the ‘Lokosi’, as they first face Hajduk, then Slaven, Rijeka, Dinamo and Varaždin.

Gorica 3-5 Slaven Belupo: Eight-Goal Thriller in Velika Gorica

Gorica (4-2-3-1): Josipović – Perić (subbed on 70. Braut), Filipović, Stevanović, Cvijanović – Kavelj (subbed on 80. Čustović), Lacoux (subbed on 70. Pranjić) – Vrzić (subbed on 84. Mijić), Pavičić, Bogojević (subbed on 70. Kardum) – Brodić

Slaven Belupo (4-2-3-1): Čović – Krušelj, Mersinaj, Kovačić, Jakir (subbed on 84. Urata) – Bosak, Crepulja (subbed on 82. Caimacov) – Mitrović, Dabro (subbed on 69. Bošnjak), Banovec – Nestorovski

Both sides looked likely to fight for every ball in Velika Gorica, and the desire to score one more than the opponent showed from the first minute.

Slaven struck first in the 17th. Josip Mitrović spotted Filip Krušelj on the far side with a perfect ball, and Krušelj crossed into the six-yard box, where Josipović came for it and missed. The cross dropped onto the head of Ilija Nestorovski, who simply turned it into the net. Gorica were level four minutes later. A cleared ball fell to Perić at the edge of the box, and he exquisitely hit it into the net, not a finish you expect from a defender. In the 25th, Gorica fully turned it around. A long ball out of the Gorica defence didn’t look dangerous, but a mix-up between the Slaven centre-backs let Vrzić run through, and he beat Čović for 2-1.

Slaven pushed back straight away. Josipović saved a shot from Mitrović in the 31st, but he had no chance four minutes later. A quick one-two between Dabro and Mitrović ended with Mitrović finishing, the Gorica defence having lost him as he made a perfect run in behind. Banovec fluffed an easy chance in the 39th when the ball surprised him, but made no mistake in the 41st. Nestorovski sent a sharp ball into the six-yard box; it fell to Banovec waiting at the far post, and he finished for 2-3. VAR checked the move for an offside on the veteran Macedonian and found nothing wrong as Ivan Cvijanović held him onside.

VAR was involved again in stoppage time. Brodić won a foul in the centre, Cvijanović took the free kick and sent it into the box, and Stevanović headed it in for his first Gorica goal to make it 3-3; after another lengthy VAR review, the Serbian was determined to be onside. The first half had been a spectacle that we rarely see, and it was certain the second half couldn’t follow the rhythm.

The tempo considerably dropped in the second half, though it was not dull. After a VAR check, referee Pavlešić awarded a penalty in the 65th for Bogojević’s clumsy challenge on Banovec, and Nestorovski scored from the spot for his 9th HNL goal of the season. Gorica went in search of an equaliser, with Filipović coming closest in the 79th, but Čović produced a superb save to keep out his header.

Slaven were reduced to ten men in the 90th when Kovačić picked up a second yellow card for stopping a Gorica counter. They still got the last word in the 94th minute, as Banovec took a long ball on the right and laid it into the six-yard box, where Caimacov tapped it in to kill the game off.

A crazy game that, in the end, was the end of Mario Carević’s tenure in Velika Gorica, as he got sacked the very next morning. His team has been unable to put away chances all season, and the defence…well, this game tells you how poor it is. The club is now in big trouble, being 4 points away from Lokomotiva, who shouldn’t really be their relegation rivals, but if Jelavić doesn’t get his act together soon, we could be in for a somewhat surprising relegation fight that doesn’t involve Rudeš. The manager of Mladost Ždralovi, Dino Skender, has been heavily linked with the job by multiple outlets. Ždralovi are currently the leaders of Croatia’s 2nd tier, 1. NL.

Istra 1961 3-1 Rijeka: Frederiksen Hat-Trick Deepens Rijeka’s Crisis in Pula

Istra 1961 (4-2-3-1): Kolić – Hrvatin (subbed on 90+1. Kadušić), Nasraoui, Kumar, Šepić – Hodžić, Albarracín – Frederiksen (subbed on 90+3. Celija), Ahmeti (subbed on 90+1. Ukich), Škafar Žužić (subbed on 73. Rozić) – Jaganjac

Rijeka (4-2-3-1): Vekić – Oreč (subbed on 87. Devetak), Majstorović, Husić, Lasickas – Pavić, Dantas (subbed on 55. Ćubelić) – Gojak (subbed on 81. Jurić), Fruk, Puljić – Adu-Adjei (subbed on 81. Mohebi)

The trip to the Aldo Drosina was Matjaž Kek’s last chance to lift morale in the dressing room before the international break after a very poor run in the last month in which Rijeka have only beaten Rudeš and second-tier Karlovac.

The first turning point in the match came just before the half-hour mark. After a scuffle with Rijeka striker Jakov Puljić, Nasraoui went down holding his face. Referee Ivan Vukančić first showed Puljić a yellow card, but VAR called him over to the monitor, and after a quick look, he changed it to a red. Puljić elbowed Nasraoui’s face, which was enough for a straight red in the 26th minute. This was just the 3rd start for Puljić, as he’s failed to impress the returning Kek and his chances of getting another start before 2027 have gone down the drain.

Rijeka’s day got worse minutes later. Istra won a free kick about 20 metres from goal, and Vekić put just two players in the wall, Gojak and Dantas. When Frederiksen struck it, Gojak shifted to his own side, and Dantas moved out of the ball’s path and turned to watch it fly into his own team’s net. This left Vekić in disbelief, and he quickly turned to verbally tell his teammates how he felt about their “wall”.

However, Rijeka equalised in the 39th, and it was another moment of magic from Toni Fruk. He took the ball in one step and, with his second touch from about 20 metres, lobbed the advancing Kolić for 1-1. Istra went back in front before the break. Škafar Žužić and Frederiksen got in each other’s way and then sorted it out within the same move, with the Rijeka defenders watching on, and Frederiksen finished for his second of the game. The second half began with another dismissal, this time Rijeka team manager Marin Vidulin, sent off for dissent. Frederiksen then played a fine ball in behind for Škafar Žužić, who was alone in front of Vekić, but the Rijeka keeper reacted superbly to save.

The day proceeded to get worse for Rijeka in the 82nd minute. After pulling at each other’s shirts, Rijeka captain Majstorović hit Nasraoui in the face with his elbow, much more seriously than Puljić had. Nasraoui’s poor face… Vukančić took a long look at the situation and showed Majstorović a red card, and he also awarded Istra a penalty as it happened inside the box. Rijeka’s staff exploded because the game had progressed to Istra’s half before VAR intervened, and Duje Čop was sent off as well. Frederiksen put the ball on the spot, but Vekić saved the penalty to maybe give Rijeka brief hope to do something with nine men.

It was very short-lived. In the 88th minute, Istra broke quickly and Frederiksen, set up by the unselfish Jaganjac, finished the counter-attack for his 2nd hat-trick of the season and his 11th overall goal. Istra didn’t really look as if they wanted to get a fourth and add to their rivals’ wounds, and that was another loss for Kek and Rijeka.

The side from Rujevica enters the international break in 6th place, in the middle of a proper mid-table scrap for 3rd and 4th. Fruk has been the saviour for this side, as he has many times before, but this season he hasn’t been able to do it as often due to his lingering injury problems. This will soon have to get resolved, and if his recovery lasts a long time, it could only deepen Kek’s problems.

Osijek 0-1 Hajduk: Martin Wins It at the Death

Osijek (4-3-3): Malenica – Kruiver (subbed on 84. Posavec), Kolarik, Jelenić, Kalem – Tunjić (subbed on 90. Balelo), Petrusenko, Farkaš (subbed on 61. Dolček) – Bukvić, Leon, Cantero (subbed on 61. Ljatifi)

Hajduk (4-2-3-1): Silić – Acapandie, Hadžikadunić, Marešić, Hrgović – Dendoncker (subbed on 74. Dalisson), Del Moral – Šutalo (subbed on 61. Bamba), Fayad (subbed on 94. Van Hoorenbeeck), Huram (subbed on 61. Šotiček) – Šego (subbed on 74. Martin)

The match started, and it was immediately evident that this game wouldn’t be a pretty one as both sides, especially Osijek, started getting very physical to stop Hajduk from getting into rhythm. There were already 13 fouls after half an hour, and at times it looked more like a fight than a football match.

One of those challenges defined the opening. In the 16th minute, Luka Jelenić went in hard and late on Šutalo in midfield, and referee Ante Čulina showed him a straight red card without much hesitation. VAR stepped in, and after a few minutes at the monitor, Čulina changed his decision to a yellow after viewing the same slowed replay a good 15-20 times, so Osijek avoided playing almost the entire game with ten men. The call caused a lot of controversy as it took Čulina too long to make a “clear and obvious error”. But overall, the refereeing from him was disastrous, as he couldn’t set any kind of criteria for the match. This led to both sides losing it, on the pitch and on their respective benches, at most of the calls.

As for the chances, they didn’t come until well past the half-hour mark. Bukvić got the better of his marker on the right and shot with his left foot towards the far corner, but Silić was ready. Hajduk replied almost immediately with a better chance. Huram sent in a low cross from the left, Šego shook off Jelenić and shot from close range, and Malenica saved brilliantly with his foot. Fayad and Huram both tried before the break, but neither found the net. It was a half with far more fight than imagination.

The second half wasn’t much different. Osijek threatened through Bukvić and Tunjić, while Hajduk looked for space to counter. Garcia freshened up the wings after an hour, with Bamba and Šotiček replacing Šutalo and Huram. Flares and fireworks from the home ultras got in the way of any rhythm, and the referee had to halt the game briefly.

As the game moved into its closing stages, both sides showed a bit more ambition. Osijek had a big chance through former Hajduk player Dolček, who got past Hrgović and then Fayad, but Marešić blocked his shot at the last moment. Garcia went to Martin and Dalisson, with Livaja again staying on the bench for the entire match. Hrgović played in Šotiček, who got clear of Kruiver in the box and found himself one-on-one with Malenica. Martin was in the middle, but Šotiček went for goal himself, and the Osijek keeper closed the angle and saved the chance.

The game looked to be heading for a goalless draw, with Hajduk pushing harder but Osijek’s defence clearing everything. Then, as the final moments approached, Oleksandr Petrusenko gave away a free kick on the left wing. Fayad sent it in to the near post, Martin rose highest and powered a header past Malenica. The entire Hajduk bench engulfed the Spaniard as they celebrated their 9th league win.

A good performance from Gonzalo Garcia’s men, especially after the subs came on in the second half; the team looked much better with new Croatian international Šotiček and Bamba on the wings. Speaking of new internationals, Šimun Hrgović also had a good game, as did the rest of Hajduk’s defence, which was equal to everything that Osijek threw at them.

Varaždin 1-3 Dinamo: Leko Wins Again as Dinamo Come from Behind

Varaždin (3-4-3): Silić – Mladenovski, Punčec, Lesjak – Maglica, Canjuga, Duvnjak (subbed on 85. Puclin), Duraković – Latković (subbed on 63. Vuk), Mamić (subbed on 85. Akrap), Tavares (subbed on 78. Uchegbu)

Dinamo (4-3-3): Kotarski – Valinčić, Galešić, Radeljić, Perez Vinlöf (subbed on 67. Goda) – Ivanušec (subbed on 67. Kačavenda), Mišić, Stojković (subbed on 87. Zajc) – Rodríguez (subbed on 56. Topić), Beljo, Hoxha (subbed on 87. Oršić)

Dinamo came out of the blocks quickly in Varaždin and were the dominant side for the opening 25 minutes or so. The problem was that their possession lacked a cutting edge against Varaždin’s back five. They were short of calm and good decisions in the final third and managed little more than a few harmless shots at Silić, plus a Galešić effort off the bar after a corner was cleared. Varaždin sat in mid/low-block and looked to attack Dinamo on the counter down the flanks.

Varaždin took the lead from one of those breaks in the 27th minute. Canjuga played to Mamić, who hit it hard past Kotarski from their first chance of the game. Celebrations didn’t last long as Dinamo equalised just three minutes later. They won the ball back, and Beljo passed to Stojković, whose shot was helped by a massive deflection off Punčec’s foot, the ball looping perfectly over Silić for 1-1.

Varaždin kept posing a threat to Dinamo on the break afterwards but were unable to break through to test Kotarski again. Dinamo’s defence has undergone a massive improvement since Leko took over. The second half started like the first, with Dinamo camped in Varaždin’s half and both Galešić and Radeljić well beyond the halfway line. Early on, Stojković missed a big chance. Beljo laid the ball off for him, completely alone on the penalty spot, but his very hurried left-footed shot ended up far wide of the post. Ivanušec also wasn’t fond of the decision as he was right beside Stojković, and had a better angle to hit it with his right foot. But in the end it didn’t matter as Dinamo continued pressuring Varaždin and a goal was on the horizon.

The pressure told in the 77th minute. Punčec stood on Beljo, referee Mateo Erceg went to the monitor after a VAR call, and he pointed to the spot. It was a second yellow card for Punčec, so he was off for an early shower and prolonged break, and Beljo converted the penalty in the 78th minute for 1-2. His 13th HNL goal of the season.

Dinamo finished off the game in the 89th. Kačavenda set up Zajc, who had come on two minutes earlier, and he finished beautifully for 1-3. Uchegbu was then sent off right before the full-time whistle for stupidly striking Goda, with whom he had a squabble moments before. That was the 5th red card of the round, the second match with two red cards in this round.

Another Dinamo win under Jerko Leko, whose perfect two-for-two record has got him the Dinamo managerial job for longer! The former Croatian international announced after the match that he spoke with Boban and that he will be staying at the club until further notice. There are some bits and bobs to hash out before making the announcement. This means the reports from Spain were wrong about Dinamo agreeing to a deal with Pol Planas. And it has to strike everybody as the right decision, as Leko has gotten this Dinamo team motivated and defensively responsible. Something Kovačević struggled massively with, especially the latter.

The HNL standings heading into the international break: