HNL Week 2: Dinamo, Hajduk Sit On Top After Back-t0-Back Wins To Open HNL Season

Dinamo vs Vukovar (3-0))

Dinamo returned back to Zagreb following a 2-0 victory over Osijek last matchweek and on Friday easily dispatched HNL newcomers, Vukovar, with a 3-0 finish at the Maksimir. Dinamo’s return to Zagreb saw them put on a clinic against Vukovar, having three different scorers in the match and maintaining a dominant 72% of the possession in the match. Dinamo’s goal scorers were Gabrijel Vidović, Dion Drena Beljo, and Sandro Kulenović. Notably, Dion Drena Beljo scored his first HNL goal after making his return to the league after a stint in the Bundesliga and Austrian League, marking his return since departing in 2022 from Osijek. Once known as a rising prospect for the National Team, Beljo is looking to bounce back in the HNL after falling off the radar of national team interest once his loan to Austria set in. Beljo joins Dinamo in a rebuild mode gunning to retake their HNL trophy and replace the 11 players lost during the summer transfer window. Dinamo’s hopes of retaking the trophy have been vindicated so far winning comfortably in their opening two matches of the campaign, with a major clash with last seasons champions, Rijeka, next week. Vukovar finds themselves in trouble already opening their HNL campaign winless and goalless in their debut matches to the HNL. Vukovar will host their first HNL match next Friday against Istra, at Cibalia’s stadium in Vinkovci, which stands as a real litmus test for the recently promoted side’s chances of surviving a competitive HNL.

Hajduk vs Gorica (2-0)

Hajduk stands as the only other side to open to open their HNL campaign perfect by taking care of Gorica with two penalty goals to win comfortably 2-0 at the Poljud on Sunday night. Hajduk found both their penalty goals in the second half, despite relying on them to get over the finish line and win the match, Hajduk created plenty of chances for themselves in the match, with 23 shots in the whole match. Benrahou stepped up and netted the first penalty after Elvir Duraković committed a last man foul in the box in the opening two minutes of the second half. Michele Šego scored the second penalty after controversially a penalty was awarded when Hajduk’s defender Mlačić and Mateo Leš feet bumped while going for a 50/50 ball in the box. Regardless, a dominant Hajduk team cruised to victory again at the Poljud, seeing them and Dinamo both sit on six points at the top of the table. With title aspirations again this season, Hajduk will travel to Koprivinica to face Slaven, who are emerging as potential threat from the midtable in the HNL this season after nearly holding last seasons champs, Rijeka, to a draw and thrashing a Varaždin side who played in the Conference qualifiers this summer 3-1.

Rijeka vs Osijek (0-0)

Rijeka and Osijek shared points in an uneventful draw that leaves Osijek feeling like yet again they could have had more after two disappointing home matches in their HNL campaign. Osijek peppered Rijeka’s goalkeeper Zlomsić with 22 shots in the match, compared to Rijeka’s 10. Even with a Rijeka red card in the 81st minute Osijek could not find themselves a winner, something noteworthy due to their top goal scorer from last season, Arnel Jakupović, still being out with an injury. Despite being last years champions, Rijeka have looked shaky so far this season, losing three straight matches in a row in European Qualifiers, needing two stoppage time goals to beat Slaven Belupo last week, and now drawing 0-0 to Osijek. With the HNL shaping up to be just as competitive as last season, both Osijek and Rijeka find themselves early on this campaign in need of changes to keep up with their title aspirations. Rijeka’s star stiker Niko Janković allegedly could have made his last appearance with the club as well, being linked to a potential transfer to Turkish Side Fehnerbace for a fee around the 6-7 million dollar mark. This transfer would serve as a major blow to Rijeka who already lost Lindon Selahi and Bruno Goda this summer.

Other Results:

Slaven Belupo vs Varaždin (3-1)

Lokomotiva vs Istra (2-2)

Fun Fact: For the first time in HNL history, every away side this matchweek gave up a red card.