Hoxha scored to equalize in the final minutes, Dinamo still on top

It was a football thriller with elements of sports drama and unexpected twists, a sparkling derby with many interruptions, even 18 minutes of referee's injury time, with the home team's domination in the first half, a disallowed goal for the blues due to an alleged earlier foul in the center, with brilliant reactions from the visiting goalkeeper Toni Silić, a penalty awarded and then disallowed for the blues, Hajduk's lead and Dinamo's equalizer with a signature from Arbër Hoxhe in the final moments... In an interesting, at times attractive and suspenseful match, Dinamo and Hajduk played to a 1:1 draw in the 16th round of the SuperSport HNL. The blues remained at the top of the league table with this point.

However, a rarity was recorded here: this is the first case in history that Dinamo has played five league matches against Hajduk at home without a victory. The previous record of four consecutive matches without a win for the Blues in Zagreb was in the 1960s and 1980s.

Dinamo played furiously, openly, seeking a corridor towards the goal with intense pressure, but in the content-rich first 45 minutes played at a high pace, the Blues still did not take the lead. They shook the net in the 24th minute, but the referee did not allow the goal after the VAR assistance found an alleged foul in the center, about seven or eight passes before the ball entered the net. It was a long action by the Blues, Dion Drena Beljo played Ismaëlu Bennacer who sent a vertical pass into the penalty area. There, Miha Zajc was alone in front of the goalkeeper Silić who managed to deflect the ball in a "one-on-one" situation. Zajc accepted it again, turned it into the six-yard box where Beljo managed to push it into the net while falling. However, with the VAR assistance, the referee judged that there was a foul at the center of the field at the beginning of the action...

Dinamo threatened right from the start, in the 4th minute Mounsef Bakrar initiated a counterattack from the right wing, played it into the middle for Beljo, who unfortunately didn't control the ball well. Shortly after, Noa Mikić set up Zajac, who passed to Bakrar for a volley that went over the goal.

It then sparked on the other side, Niko Kristian Sigur intercepted Dinamo's action, played to the right for Horacio Almena who was approaching the penalty area, crossed low to the "second post" where Mikic slid in to clear the ball in front of Ante Rebic.

Dinamo was close to scoring in the 21st minute, captain Josip Misic sent the ball to the left for Hoxha, he raced down the left wing, dribbled past the defender, sharply crossed in front of goal, and Bakrar headed the ball towards goal in full momentum. Silic managed to deflect the ball in flight with a miraculous reaction and save what seemed like a certain goal.

Silic caught the ball after Beljin's attempt from 15 meters on the right side in the 35th minute. The Blues also threatened in the referee's added time of the first half, Hoxha was advancing from the left, crossed into the six-yard box, but there was still no one in front of the goal...

VAR was once again in action in the 55th minute, the referee pointed to a penalty for Dinamo after a clash between Mikic and Rebic in Hajduk's penalty area. Hajduk's winger then kneed the young Dinamo defender in the back of the head, but the referee later judged that it was not a foul for a penalty kick. The delay lasted almost five minutes before the final decision was that there was neither a penalty kick nor a foul.

On such a platform, Hajduk took the lead in the 68th minute, visiting captain Marko Livaja crossed from the left to the "second post", the ball was received by Almena, turned towards the goal where just in front of the goal line Michele Šego managed to deflect it into the net.

Dinamo aggressively pushed for an equalizer, fueled by loud support from the stands, the Blues were close to scoring in the seventh minute of stoppage time. After a corner kick, the ball danced in Hajduk's penalty area, it was a bombardment in front of the goal, in such a "pinball machine" Scott McKenna reached the ball and still sent it just wide of the goal.

The Maksimir stands erupted in the 12th minute of stoppage time when the equalizing goal was scored. McKenna sent a long ball from deep in his own half to the right, Fran Topić headed it on from the right, Sandro Kulenović struck sharply, goalkeeper Silić parried the ball, but Hoxha ran in and slammed it home for the equalizer.