Dinamo suffered a convincing defeat against Novi Sad, who celebrated a 3-0 victory at Maksimir Stadium, losing momentum in the title race. Ilija Belić opened the scoring, before Josip Pirmajer added two more goals for the visitors' emphatic win. Dinamo and Partizan had been alternating at the top of the table, but as the black-and-whites defeated Sarajevo 2-0 at home, it meant they pulled away at the summit with three rounds remaining, opening up a two-point gap over the Zagreb side. Before the match against Novi Sad, Željko Matuš picked up an injury, while Dražan Jerković, Slaven Zambata, Vlatko Marković and Mirko Charlie Braun were already sidelined. With such a string of injuries, it was difficult to maintain the race with Partizan.