I would like to congratulate the players on an excellent fight. They showed they have the strength and the will to go out and live up to the Dinamo shirt they wear, and I am grateful to them for that, said Dinamo head coach Jerko Leko after the away win over Sunderland, his debut on the first team's bench.

– I also want to thank our fans. They were loud, you could hear them... There is something else I would like to say. It happened that I took over the first team on All Saints' Day. That is why I dedicate this victory to Ivan Turina and Nikola Pokrivač. On the day I took charge of the first team, I received a message that touched me deeply. And I remember that we had plans to perhaps be here together. I believe they are proud of me and of this win.

There was not much time to prepare for this win, but Leko managed to put his main idea into practice.

– I wouldn't single anyone out, this is a collective victory, a team-spirit victory... The wingers, the strikers and the full-backs all slid in to win the ball. It was an excellent performance, the boys closed down space and defended superbly, both the full-backs and the wingers, Mislav Oršić and Mateo Lisica... Everyone showed discipline. I told everyone: “Play as much as you can, and when you can't any more, just raise your hand.” We have to show that Dinamo is “the one” and that it has energy. It was a pleasure for me to lead this match.

How much can a win like this be a turning point for the rest of the season, a trigger for more good results?

– It certainly can. In most cases, after a change of coach the desired “click” happens. I think it has happened now. Of course, I don't expect us to win everything until the end, but this is a good impetus. The boys have also proven to themselves that they are the real deal.

The fans were the real deal too, and we expect them at the important away match in Varaždin on Sunday as well.

– Absolutely. I invite all of them to come and support us in Varaždin, and I can promise them there will be this same energy. Some players are a little tired, while we managed to keep others fresh. We expect the real Dinamo in that match too – concluded Coach Leko.

One of the main heroes of this win was the scorer of the first goal and the provider of the assist for the second – Luka Stojković.

– We are happy, we wanted this win badly. We arrived a little dejected after the defeat in the league, but we gave everything and deserved to win. This is one of the most precious goals of my career. We believed in the win. Well, we believe in every match, but sometimes you also need a bit of luck. Sunderland were good, they hit the woodwork, Dominik Kotarski made some saves, we were solid in defense and took our chances. That's football, and that's why it's so interesting. After our great first half, it was understandable that Sunderland would push forward to find a goal, and we stood firm at the back, with the idea of playing on the counter. We managed to defend and we are really happy. Thank you to our fans, they are with us everywhere, they outsang the English. I hope they will come to Varaždin on Sunday too, we need good energy, we have to win – added Stojković.

Dinamo centre-back Niko Galešić also played a great match.

– We showed the true face of Dinamo, we played an excellent match. The first half was perhaps the best of this season. We fought until the last minute, gave everything, went into every duel... Josip Mišić slid in on Granit Xhaka, Luka Stojković went into a duel against Kevin Danso, that's where you see the desire, and we deserved to win. Our fans helped us too, they are incredible, look at how far they traveled to give us their support. I thank them on my own behalf and on behalf of the team, and I hope they will keep it up – stressed Galešić.