Dinamo shook the net twice in under half an hour to open the path to victory, but a red card for Maksimir captain Josip Mišić brought a touch of uncertainty to the finale. Čakovec referee Patrik Kolarić sent off Mišić in the 69th minute for dissent (!), which means the Maksimir captain will miss the next league match against Hajduk at Poljud in three weeks. In the 8th round SuperSport HNL match, Dinamo defeated city rivals Lokomotiva 3-2.

Kolarić sent off Mišić with the Blues leading 3-1, the visitors soon reduced the deficit with a man advantage, but Dinamo managed to preserve the victory until the end.

Early in the match, the referee judged that the contact between ball and defender's hand in the visiting penalty area was not punishable by penalty. The Blues took the lead nonetheless. In the 11th minute they took three consecutive corner kicks, in the first two cases Luka Ivanušec delivered to the near post, but in this third one he played a short low ball towards the center of the pitch for calm attack organization... In the continuation Mateo Lisica crossed into the penalty area, Stjepan Radeljić on the left side of the six-yard box outjumped his opponent, headed across to the other side, Niko Galešić made the run and fired home first time.

Referee Kolarić initially flagged Radeljić for a foul in attack, but after a VAR review he changed his decision and awarded the goal.

Mišić played left to Lukas Kačavenda in the 21st minute, he cut sharply into the center, and Luka Stojković got his foot to it from ten meters in a jumping motion. Goalkeeper Josip Posavec somehow managed to stop the ball on the goal line.

The Blues doubled their lead in the 26th minute, Mišić sent a long diagonal ball right to Paulo Tabinas, who skillfully crossed to the six-yard box where Dion Drena Beljo 'bowed' and headed into the goal.

Just two minutes later the visitors got back into the game with a goal. They scored while two Dinamo players were lying on the pitch grimacing in pain. At the start of the move Radeljić was left injured in midfield. A Lokomotiva attack followed down the left wing, Leon Belcar crossed to the 'far post', captain Marko Vešović headed down into the six-yard box, Dominik Kotarski punched the ball away in flight and collided with Kristijan Čabrajić. The referee did not flag this collision in the goalkeeper's area as an attacking foul. Kotarski remained down, Dušan Vuković picked up the ball and first hit the block, but on his second attempt he found the net.

In first-half stoppage time Lisica cut in from the right, and Tabinas headed the ball just wide of the far post.

The visitors threatened at the start of the second half, Noel Đurković escaped the offside trap, went alone from the left towards goal, but Galešić took the ball away with a sliding tackle at the last moment. Soon after Luka Ivanušec fired sharply from 17 meters into the bottom corner, but goalkeeper Posavec managed to deflect it for a corner.

Dinamo extended their lead to two goals again in the 58th minute, Ivanušec sent a long ball forward from the left for Stojković. It deflected off an opposing defender, but Dinamo's midfielder managed to collect it and run into the penalty area. He turned skillfully and played in Beljo who with two feints beat two defenders and fired with his left foot from 14 meters into the far bottom corner.

Four minutes later Mirko Marić fired a powerful shot from about ten meters first time, but Kotarski prevented the goal with a brilliant reaction save.

However, in the 75th minute, six minutes after Mišić's dismissal, the visitors reduced the deficit to 3-2. Belcar aggressively went for a long ball in Dinamo's half, managed to reach it before Radeljić, broke clear of Kotarski and reduced the lead. In the closing stages Vešović crossed from the left, and Athanasios Triantafyllou headed against the top of the crossbar.

Zagreb, 20 September 2026.

SuperSport HNL, Round 8

Dinamo – Lokomotiva 3-2

Maksimir Stadium

Dinamo: Kotarski – Tabinas (66. Valinčić), Galešić, Radeljić, Perez Vinlöf – Mišić; Lisica (74. Almena), Stojković (63. Kravtsov), Kačavenda (63. Zajc), Ivanušec (66. Hoxha) – Beljo

Coach: Mario Kovačević

Lokomotiva: Posavec – Karačić, Triantafyllou, Čabraja, Čabrajić – Katić (46. Subotić), Fetai (79. Antunović); Vuković (61. Thaqi), Belcar, Vešović – Đurković (59. Marić)

Coach: Nikica Jelavić

Referee: Patrik Kolarić (Čakovec)

Red card: Mišić (Dinamo, 69. - dissent)

Goalscorers: 1-0 Galešić (11.), 2-0 Beljo (26.), 2-1 Vuković (28.), 3-1 Beljo (58.), 3-2 Belcar (75.)