A derby, an away ground, a foreign referee and a win for the Blues to stretch their lead at the top of the table... That was the backdrop to the autumn derby, in which Dinamo beat Partizan 2-0 away and, after 13 rounds, extended their lead at the top. The Blues now had a four-point advantage over second-placed Partizan...

The match in Belgrade was refereed by the Italian official Sergio Gonella, from Turin. Later in his career, Gonella also took charge of the 1976 European Championship final between Czechoslovakia and West Germany in Belgrade, and the 1978 World Cup final between Argentina and the Netherlands in Buenos Aires.

The Belgrade clash was played in the rain on a heavy pitch, but despite those conditions the players put on an impressive display. Each side rattled both the crossbar and the post twice. Partizan were led from the bench by coach Stjepan Bobek, a former Dinamo player and, four years later, the club's manager. On the Zagreb bench, of course, was Ivica Horvat.

Dinamo dominated for most of the match, created chances and could ultimately have won more convincingly.

Dinamo seriously threatened three times in the first eight minutes alone. First, Marijan Čerček headed at goal twice: the ball first went wide, and then ended up in the goalkeeper's hands. In the 8th minute, Rudolf Belin struck from 20 metres at full pace and hit the crossbar. In the very next minute, the crossbar shook at the other end of the pitch after a powerful shot from Partizan midfielder Luan Prekazi.

In the 24th minute, Čerček found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Ivan Ćurković, but sent the ball slightly wide. At the other end, Ilija Katić was dangerous, shooting from an angle and rattling the post.

Dinamo took the lead in their first attack of the second half. Denijal Pirić delivered the ball in from the corner, Čerček grazed it with a leap, and it struck Branko Rašović on the head... The ball changed direction and flew toward the goal. Ćurković pushed it onto the post, after which it came to rest in the net.

In the 57th minute, Pirić got past two defenders and set up Ivica Kiš, who rounded the goalkeeper and also fired against the post. Pirić ran onto the rebound and sent the ball over the goal from the edge of the penalty area. Two minutes later, Belin brilliantly set up Kiš, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and it looked like a certain goal... But although Kiš was known for his superb ball control and his devastating and precise shot, this time he did not react at his best and the goalkeeper managed to prevent the goal.

The second goal arrived in the 68th minute. Belin played in Čerček, who ran into the penalty area, where he was brought down from behind by Latif Čičić. Čerček himself placed the ball on the 11-metre spot and doubled the lead. Dinamo came close to scoring again a minute before the end, when Pirić broke down the flank and got through on Ćurković, but the ball passed only a few centimetres wide of the goal.