Dinamo Zagreb escaped from Rujevica with a point on Saturday thanks to the acrobatic skill of Soudani and the goalkeeping prowess of Dominik Livković.
Rijeka remain on top after the draw, but are certainly not satisfied with splitting the points with second-place Dinamo.
The first 30 minutes were dominated by Rijeka, who threw everything they had at the young Dinamo goalkeeper. Livaković fought off effort after effort of from the league-leaders and kept his team in the game, despite only one attempt on goal the first half from Dinamo.
Franko Andrijašević finally broke the scoreless draw with a headed goal in the 68th minute. Andrijašević found himself all alone and met a cross with his head to smash it by Livaković. Dinamo defenders looked in disbelief after Andrijašević was left uncovered for miles before scoring.
Dinamo fought back and were rewarded with their efforts with an 85th minute goal from Soudani that will be seen on highlight reels around the world.
Soudani scored on an overhead kick from near the top of the 18-yard box and hit the ball in the upper corner, leaving Ivan Prškalo helpless in his attempt to save it.
Dinamo defeated NK Osijek last week, further proving they are still serious about catching up to Rijeka to win their 13th consecutive championship.
Speaking of Osijek, the club took advantage of the top teams drawing and laid waste to RNK Split with a 4-0 win. Though 15 points behind Dinamo, they are three points ahead of Hajduk Split, who also drew in their match over the weekend.
Hajduk was forced to play behind closed doors at Poljud due to fan behavior when Rijeka paid them a visit several weeks ago. This left a cavernous and empty atmosphere that probably led to Hajduk drawing 1-1 against Slaven Belupo. The draw pushed Hajduk back to fourth place behind Osijek.
Istra mustered up their second-consecutive win again Inter Zaprešic in Pula this weekend. Goran Roce scored a penalty in the 63rd minute to give the match its only goal. Inter fell to 10 men after Ivan Čović collided with Theophilus Solomon when he was in a one-on-one with Čović. Istra was not able to capitalize on the man-advantage, but Solomon came close with a near miss in the dying minutes.
NK Lokomotiva added to the painful woes of HNK Cibalia with a 4-1 win at Kranjčevićeva. The loss marked Cibalia’s 20th loss of the season. They have recorded one win this year, against the almost-equally-as-pitiful RNK Split. Both teams will likely see relegation in the even two Druga Liga clubs can muster up a first-league license.