Goalkeeper Zvonko Dogan's injury which forced him to end his career, a squandered two-goal lead in the derby and a lost opportunity for the title... That is the essence of the derby between Dinamo and Red Star which ended 2-2 in Zagreb, meaning that the Blues, positioned in second place with two rounds remaining, had an insurmountable five-point deficit behind leaders Partizan.

The points gap remained unchanged in the final two rounds, and Dinamo finished as runners-up, five points behind. The match against Red Star was marked by Maksimir goalkeeper Zvonko Dogan who, unfortunately, had to end his career that day due to a serious injury. With the Blues leading 2-1, Dogan bravely rushed into a scramble, stopped the ball, but suffered a severe injury in a collision with opposing player Jovan Jezerkić. Dogan sustained a concussion and required surgical intervention.

Due to this injury, he had to end his career and later became a well-known sports photojournalist. Dinamo found the net against the Belgrade side in the seventh minute when Zvonimir Cimermančić capitalised on a counter-attack and chipped goalkeeper Ljubomir Lovrić. Cimermančić also initiated the second goal when he crossed from the right wing in the 20th minute, and Božidar Senčar slotted home for 2-0. The visitors reduced the deficit in the 61st minute when Predrag Đajić met a long ball and exploited Dogan's careless rush out of goal. Four minutes later, Dinamo's goalkeeper was injured, so his teammate, defender Branko Pleše, who had been playing as left-half until that moment, moved between the posts. Red Star equalised in the 77th minute when Pleše first caught and then dropped the ball, allowing Kosta Tomašević to pounce on it and score.