Luka Modrić played the full 90 minutes and assisted on AC Milan’s 93′ equalizer in a shock 2-2 draw vs. Pisa. AC Milan were the better team for 90% of the match but conceded a penalty and late counter attack to give Pisa hope for their first win of the season. Modrić flooded the field with wonderful through balls inside and outside the box. He could have easily had another assist or two. However, Leao hit the crossbar with a good look on goal and with the last shot of the game, Saelemaekers sent a near point-blank shot just wide of the post. Milan will be disappointed with the draw.
Modrić was given a solid 8.4 FOTMOB rating in this match. SempreMilan said this of Modrić and his efforts: “A couple of misplaced passes at the start of the game from him, but after that, he controlled a lot for Milan and certainly made himself a key part of the attack. If anything, we saw that in the final 15-20 minutes or so.”
Andrej Kramarić recorded a goal and assist in Hoffenheim’s 3-1 victory over Heidenheim Saturday, receiving a solid 7.8 SOFA rating. It is his 3rd goal of the Bundesliga season as Hoffenheim are punching above their weight with 13 points from eight matches.
Luka Vušković played the full 90 minutes for Hamburg in a 1-0 loss to Wolfsburg Saturday. He received a 7.8 SOFA rating in the match which was second best on the squad. He won one tackle, had seven clearances, one blocked shot and won 11/12 aerial duels.
Josip Stanišić returned to action Saturday in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 victory Borussia Monchengladbach. He came off the bench in the 81st minute to play the last 10 minutes of the match and will be available for November’s World Cup qualifiers vs. Faroe Islands and Montenegro.
Joško Gvardiol played the full 90 minutes for Man City in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa Sunday. With the defeat, City now fall six points behind leaders Arsenal. Gvardiol received a 5/10 grade from Goal.com as he was “Always encouraged to get forward, but that can leave space behind. Could have made more of a push from Rogers in the first-half that would have given VAR a big penalty call to make, but offered no appeal.” Mateo Kovačić remained an unused sub for City in the match.
Franjo Ivanović bagged a late insurance penalty in the 93′ for Benfica in a 5-0 win over Arouca. This is Ivanović’s third Portuguese goal in eight appearances this season.
Jagusic GF watch / Nose-picker update
Beautiful interview with Jagusic on Slaven Belupo channel
***.youtube.com/watch?v=DEye4ypNuuM
He’s was shocked when he realized it was for the A-team
Importantly, he was with his mother, so shared the moment with her, and then spoke to his dad – no mention of his GF (maybe she’s on the way out!)
Of course – Dalic being a nose-picker – didn’t speak to Jagusic before calling him up – but Jagusic did see that Dalic was in the crowd for a SB match
Recall: no Under calls-up – until U21 in March – now NT call-up in November
He comes across as someone with a good head on his shoulder – look how much it means to him to be called up (he’s shocked about it) – not one of those entitled wedding boys or lazy & soft that took for granted being called up (and now demoted to the standby-list)
You can’t help want this kid to succeed
Your misuse of dashes (among other things) is nauseating.
Vukovar beat Dinamo 1 – 0 in Vinkovci.
Dinamo were awful on a poor playing surface and failed to create any clear-cut chances. Coach Kovacevic rested 7 regulars, but none of these players impressed. Stojkovic had to leave the field in the first half with an ankle injury.
The playing field is poor, and I worry for Hajduk on Wednesday when they play Cibalia in the cup.
Good point about field conditions.
Gregurina has to rest Jagusic on Wednesday against Bijelo Brdo and other regulars as well.
No need for injuries
This would have been a good opportunity to reward Orsic for the run of good form he has had lately. We already seen enough of what Vlasic can offer.
Why isn’t Marko Pjaca at least on the stand by list?
I ask again….. why Moro? A DM who hardly plays in Italy, and when he does play it is against a bottom of the table team.
Calling up 6 CB’s is also a strange…….and yes Gvardiol is a CB. If Dalic starts either Pong or DCC at World Cup we are done.
Jagusic GF Gram watch
So far she’s just reposted the Slaven announcement that Jagusic got called up
Will monitor – she must be thinking she just hit the jackpot – at this rate Jagusic will be bought by T by the summer time (and she’ll be in London living the WAG life)
🤣🤣
Folks misunderstanding the Vlasic call
Despite the abundance of midfielders, Dalic can’t just call one 10 (Fruk)
He drops 3 10s wedding boy, lazy & soft, and mid (bc they aren’t playing for club)
So needs another 10 – hence Vlasic (necessary evil)
He probably wanted to call Jagusic straight up (as the 2nd 10) but thought it’s a step too-far/people would freak out as “out of nowhere”
If Jagusic continues to impress the next 10 days – he has a chance to be called imo
Jagusic has been really good the last few weeks. Scored a nice goal this weekend and could have easily had a couple of assists. I doubt though he gets a chance with the National team.
Cool to see Jagusic on the stand-by list 🙂
Btw, below is the matchwinner that Basic scored against Juventus. He received a standing ovation from the home supporters as he was subbed off.
streamain.com/en/o3PTVQmpdObdqK1/watch
I generally take issue with a move from starting to off the team the next round. I feel like if you’re good enough to start, your next stop should likely be the bench rather than right off the team. To take bigger jumps just creates instability
I’m going to assume here that baturina and majer especially have not lost their place but that instead qualification is wrapped up so dalic wants to give a shot to a guy like vlasic and matanovic to see what they can bring
Now why dalic drops guys he played 70 minutes in a game like majer and baturina to do that rather than moro is a fair question
Something about moro he just loves though
Dalic’s lists are usually pretty easy to predict. This one seems like it’s going to be a little more controversial.
No Baturina makes sense, he’s had a surprisingly horrible time in Italy so far. Still strange not seeing him called.
I’d argue that Fruk and Pongracic don’t really deserve to be there based on both club and personal form. Vlasic might seem like a really weird call-up to some, but he’s captaining Torino and playing okay-ish. His inclusion is still pretty questionable.
I’m happy to see a new striker has been brought in, less happy to see its Matanovic as his output/playing time has been very underwhelming. But I haven’t watched a single game of his this season so I won’t say too much.
Awesome to see Jagusic on the stand-by list. Bright future ahead of him and hopefully this gives him even more motivation.
Yeah, Jagusic will be the future Captain for us, unless #10 decides he can play into the 2030’s
Majer dropped for Vlasic is funny – neither should be called up
Valincic added to standby (as predicted – he’ll probably get called up properly in 10 days – guess Dalic thinks he can do better than Smolcic (on standby))
Surprised Lisica didn’t get standby (esp. as he links up well with Valincic)
JJ and Sosa dropped from standby (good)
Igor called up over Kule is wild (especially since Dalic said he wants SPEED and ENERGY up-front) – told you DDB is crap (also not standby) – crazy Kule is still behind Musa and his mickey-mouse MLS
Hilarious there are still only ONE DINAMO player and now ONE SLAVEN BELUPO player lol Boban must be fuming
Dalic needs to be ruthless – if Liva isn’t playing – drop him – and invite Letica or Pandur (don’t care which one) or at least invite one of them to have 4 keepers (if you don’t want to drop Liva yet)
Nice nod by Dalic to include Kovacevic on stand-by (kind of crazy Igor is called up ahead of him – I get Igor’s might be the future – but no guarantee he starts playing regularly)
OMG !!!
JAGUSIC ON STAND-BY !!!!!
Anonymous eye tests are the BEST in the world AND of ALL-TIME !!!
Anonymous told you all he’s got it (check the tape – Anonymous was the first to mention his beautiful name) – and also tell you Baturina and Luka Sucic don’t have it (they both dropped)
Yessir
Musa and Kovacevic are on the standby list, Musa had a good season for FC Dallas with 18 goals
Kova seems to be doing good for his club but it’s the Slovenian league
Not one genuine fullback in the latest Dalic list for next month’s WC qualifiers, all CB’s. Gvardiol and Stanisic will obviously play as Full Backs if fit?
12 players on the standby list including some fullbacks such as Bradaric and Valincic.
Vlasic is back, but personally I’m glad to see Igor Matanovic make the list. Matanovic is a great prospect and our eventual replacement for Budimir.
Budimir MVP of the match with two goals in Osasuna’s loss to Celta. His second penalty attempt hit the crossbar, so was inches from a hat trick. His most impressive skill continues to be his abiliry to win aerial duels off goal kicks. With him and Vušković in the same lineup, Croatia would have the air absolutely covered.
Toma Bašić starting for Lazio once again. Seems like he may deserve the Fruk (or Luka Sučić) spot in the lineup.
Bašić just scored a killer goal too at the 9 minute mark
We need to start playing Vuskovic, and we need to pair Budimir with wingers who send in crosses.
Perisic hasn’t been so great for us lately. He’s still a sudden gamechanger, but he needs to have his minutes reduced.
We need to start using our subs more, and stop with giving our core veterans a guaranteed 90 minutes a piece.
Two things: One, Pongračić is playing better and better for Fiorentina. He looked really great for Fiorentina in the second half against Bologna, played smart and tough, runs fast and has a great first touch, even put in a great cross while chasing the win and drew what technically should have been Lucumí’s second yellow in the final minutes. If he played that way for the repka, Šutalo would be on the bench. What is going on with him that he looks so much less like a champion for the repka? Two, Bologna does not defend well without Moro. Say what you like about him, but Bologna drops points when he doesn’t play. There’s nothing special about him as a player, but he somehow helps prevent teams from scoring.
Maybe playing Pongračić with Šutalo or Duje is a bad fit.
I don’t recall if Pongračić has played with Gvardiol as his CB partner.
But I’m more focused on seeing what Vuskovic can do with Gvardiol. Pongračić is (and always will be) just a depth player for us.
Sure, but if you have a depth player who can play world-class, it doesn’t hurt. I get the sense that Pongračić always feels like a guest on the Dalić squad and so he doesn’t play his true game. At Fiorentina he plays like he’s the boss, even acting as an enforcer in the little conflicts that flare up. We never see anything like that on the repka. It doesn’t mean he should be prioritized over Vušković, but having a player that good available to step in in case of injuries, where Gvardiol may have to play left back, for example, doesn’t hurt. What I don’t like about Šutalo is that he goes down so easily with contact (also at Ajax). That’s the kind of thing that can bite Croatia against more favored opposition at the world cup. You don’t see Pongračić or Erlić going down so easily.
Yea Šutalo isn’t physical, nor is he good with headers (which is odd because he does have the size to be good at both).
Here’s the foul on Vuskovic in extra stoppage time
Looks like a penalty – surprised ref didn’t even go to VAR…
x.com/robi1O96/status/1982164639803703624
HSV next play Tuesday 13:30 EDT Pokal Cup match vs. Heidenheim
Pjaca (FC Twente) v Sutalo (Ajax) starting momentarily in the Eredivisie. For those in Canada/US eastern time zone, a 7:15 am start . . .
I see Ivanovic scored on a penalty kick after being subbed on late in the game today . . . Benfica wins 5-0.
Won’t hurt his confidence.
The photo of Luka receiving his award says all anyone needs to know about him: individual awards mean nothing compared to team success.
Indeed. I still had the game on at that point and it looked like he was gonna almost cry because they didn’t win against a newly-promoted team.
He did not look interested in receiving the award or having the photo taken.
Meanwhile Leao misses a golden chance and smiles after like a mala curica.
Franko Kovacevic is linked to Sevilla. Quoting the fichajes.net article below: “Sevilla has already sent scouts to some of Celje’s games, and the Seville club is compiling a dossier with data, videos, and clauses to activate an offer in the winter transfer window.”
fichajes.net/en/news/the-superstar-forward-who-could-sign-for-sevilla-20251025.html
Nice to see.
Dream scenario would be this guy becoming another Dado Pršo for us.
Blows up out of nowhere, and becomes a starting caliber striker for us in his mid-20s.
Amen to that *crosses fingers
Luka Sucic unused sub y’day
Baturina came on at 72′ today (not for Nico Paz – he plays 90′ every game (so stop saying he’s not playing bc of Paz!) – anyone see him play?
You should start each of your dozen daily posts with “Dear Diary…”
Three of the big concerns/disappointments in terms of playing time so far this season have been (1) Livakovic, (2) L. Sucic and (3) Majer.
Majer was an unused sub today. .
Those guys need to get on track, but you can’t get on track if you don’t play enough, and aren’t getting starts.
Should they change teams?
Other players need to find their form after slow starts or due to being sidelined by injuries, including Sutalo, Stanisic, and Kovacic. I think they will all be ready for the summer WC. They should be fine.
On the plus side . . .
Vuskovic has proven to be a force in the Bundesliga, Modric is playing really well, Kramaric now appears to be rounding into form, and Hoffenheim is going well.
Defence and midfield seem like they will be very solid. Goaltending is turning out to be a worry and none of our attacking forwards have had a break out year . . .
Am I glad that you wrote this comment, A Tin U. I have been looking to talk to you about the overall club form of our NT players which up to this point of the season has been very concerning, especially given this is World Cup year.
Even DCC was benched on Friday, to my surprise…
Should those 3 players change team? I assume you have the upcoming January window in mind. Imo Livakovic, certainly yes, as I can’t really see him pushing out Gazzaniga at Girona. Sucic probably should look out as well, since Real Sociedad’s midfield is fairly crowded and he is way down the pecking order. I guess for Sucic and Majer, it also depends on whether their current coaches are dismissed (or if they resign) between now and January.
Maybe more thoughts later. Suffice to say, I’m really hoping the situation will improve for many of our players, beyond just the ones mentioned above.
Thanks for your insights Bartolec1912. 🙏
Yes, I had the upcoming January window in mind.
I think you must be right about coaches. . . It seems a change in coaches can cause, or contribute to, a player who has been going well suddenly falling into disfavour.
New coach this year at Real Sociedad and that does not seem to have worked for L. Sucic. How much of the problem there is the coach? I don’t know, but it seems it must have contributed to the current sad state of affairs to some degree.
Majer went to Wolfsburg under Niko Kovac, if I recall right, and it has been a revolving coaching door since. Sutalo has a new coach this year after his great year last year at Ajax under a different coach. The recent coaching change at Benfica does not seem to have been good for Ivanovic.
For us to go well at WC2026 we obviously need everyone peaking at the right time. It seems the January transfer window and the status of 3-4 coaches around Europe are things we will have to watch closely over the next few months.
Yeah… I just wanna mention that although Sucic has a new coach at Real Sociedad, this new coach (what’s his name— Sergio Francisco?) and Sucic are not exactly new to each other. Sergio Francisco was the assistant coach last season, so he knew all about Sucic and witnessed flashes of talent from him last season. To me it’s a little surprising that Sucic has totally fallen out of favor with him – and in such a short time – given their history/relationship.
@Anonymous . . .
I saw the Como-Parma game from the point when Baturina came onto the field in about the 70th minute.
Ended 0-0.
Baturina played at least as well as Nico Paz while they were both on the field. Before anyone laughs, I’m not saying he is a better player. He isn’t. I’m just saying if you watch this game for the last 25 minutes or so (that includes extra time), you are likely to conclude that Baturina played at least as good as Paz.
He worked hard when he did not have the ball.
He was confident and in control when he had the ball and overall seemed to be building some confidence as a player new to Serie A. He made a couple of slick moves, and was directly involved in creating one of Como’s better chances to score, crossing a nice ball into the middle to a Como player.
He made one very quick break with the ball, showing good acceleration, up the middle of the field, breaking away from defenders into open space and creating a potential opportunity . . . he then made a pass to his left which was easily intercepted by a defender, when he had a Como player wide open on the right that I thought he could have hit with a pass and it would’ve been a much better choice. A poor selection there. So he created a good opportunity with Como on the counterattack, but didn’t finish the opportunity very well.
I would say he is coming on well. The announcers said about the same thing. They said that he was brought to the team to eventually replace Paz who is going to return to Real Madrid this summer. They said Baturina was being nurtured and developed to take over that role in the midfield for when Paz leaves, the announcer said they are both suited to the same role and Baturina is there to inherit it. I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.
I couldn’t really say that there was anything dramatic, but he played well.
He does seem to get knocked off the ball a little bit too easily and if he could develop some strength, I think that would make him better. Modrić is not that big a player either, but he’s strong and I have noticed it’s tough to knock Modric off the ball. Ballerina doesn’t have that same physical strength. It’s probably something he has to work on.
A final note: Smolcic was also playing in this game at right back for Como. He had a very solid performance. He was very steady. Nothing dramatic, but steady. For the part of the game that I saw he didn’t make any errors and seemed to be settling in at Como in that role at right back.
Yikes. Voice dictation glitch.
“Baturina.”
Thanks for the detailed report🙏
Re Smolcic, glad to hear that. I recall when he was with Rijeka, he was defensively solid and always very consistent in his performances. The Belgian guy who was the starting RB earlier in the season is now back from injury but I hope Fabregas will continue to prefer Smolcic… I guess it helps that Smolcic is also able to play as part of a back three.
Re Baturina, what I read on SN is that Como bought Baturina with the notion that Nico Paz was bound to leave during the summer. It didn’t happen, and Como renegotiated their contract with Paz with new buyback clauses for Real Madrid (correct me if I’m wrong). So, at the end of the day, Paz not leaving left Baturina stranded in a bad position for this season which happens to be World Cup year…
Totally agree with you that Baturina has to develop more physical strength/toughness and should emulate Modric in this regard.
About him picking the wrong pass on that counterattack, I feel that it’s a direct result of him not playing regularly hence lacking game sharpness. Btw I think Fabregas can be pretty demanding as a coach, he said the following about Baturina:
‘Kuhn i Baturina su dobro ušli u utakmicu, a onda su u završnici napravili neke pogreške koje ne očekuješ od takvih igrača.’
tportal.hr/sport/clanak/baturina-dobio-priliku-fabregas-nije-odusevljen-20251026
Hull City 1-1
Charlton equalized in extra-time
Pandur couldn’t do much on the free header off the corner
x.com/GoalsXtra/status/1982112686973296789
HSV lost 0-1 Wolfsburg (despite 2.45 xG created)
For Wolfsburg goal, HSV LB Muheim got caught up w Daghim – and as he was trying to get back the midfielder passed it past it back to the wing to Daghim (his man) – Vuskovic had to come over to cover – it was a 1 v 1 and Vuskovic got flat-footed – the guy cut inside and fired off a shot – this is the exact type of 1 v 1 they are trying to avoid Vuskovic getting into (as it’s not his strength) – once he gets flat-footed like that – it’s hard for him to react to a quick skill in front of him (he swiped his foot, but the ball was already moved on at that point)
Even Gvardiol isn’t particularly strong in these 1 v 1 – but for Vuskovic it’s clearly not his strength – they have to work on his feet in these situations – Anonymous noticed it in the Bayern game – it’s this getting flat-footed/stopping that kills him (somehow the need to get him to keep his feet moving in small steps in these 1 v 1 I think it might help with balance/ability to explode in other directions)
Otherwise, his aerial dominance was on display, good composure, very good passing (both short and long, including diagonal and line-breaking) with both feet – interesting – in search of late goal Vuskovic went up for the last 10 minutes as an extra #9 – he was fouled inside the box (around 90+2or3) but it wasn’t called – watched the replay a few times and seems to be a foul (the defender deliberately put his leg in between Vuskovic and he tripped) – but the ref didn’t even go to VAR to check
Majer – of course – was an unused sub
Terrible news
Olic is watching Vuskovic today (they showed him – although he was more focused on his phone – put away your f-ing phone for 90 minutes nose-picker!)
Guess he’s scouting him for the U21
Terrible
10:00 EDT Pandur starts vs. Charlton Athletic
Big match for Hull – a win and they could push up into PO territory
Re: Norwich – Ante Crnac ruptured his ACL – needs surgery – and is out for the rest of the season (not sure if happened during the last match or in training)
Vuskovic starting 09:30 EDT
No change in starting 11 to line-up vs. Union Berlin
But – big news – silky Fabio Vieira has returned to the bench after injury
Majer on bench – didn’t realize Christian Eriksen’s at Wolfsburg now (in their back-line RCB Seelt and RB Kumbedi making their Bundesliga debut – supposed HSV will target that right side)
Conference League Matchday 2
Goals by 26-year-old center forward/winger Franko Kovacevic in Celje’s 2-0 win at Shamrock Rovers. With 22 goals across all competitions, he is on the radar of Fiorentina, Celta Vigo and Sparta Praha according to Nogomania.
Shamrock Rovers 0-[ 1] Celje – Franko Kovacevic 33′
reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1oecw4t/shamrock_rovers_01_celje_franko_kova%C4%8Devi%C4%87_33
Shamrock Rovers 0-[ 2] Celje – Franko Kovacevic 40′
reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1oed15o/shamrock_rovers_02_celje_franko_kova%C4%8Devi%C4%87_2nd
***
Rijeka managed to beat Sparta Praha – well done!👏🏻
Rijeka 1-0 Sparta Praha – Daniel Adu-Adjei 75′
reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1oezj17/rijeka_10_sparta_praha_daniel_aduadjei_75
Tidbit: Pisa goalie for the match was Croatian Adrian Šemper.
How did he look?
King luka still king
I meant semper
Obviously king luka looks awesome