Just one point in the penultimate round against Sarajevo at Koševo meant a final farewell for the Blues from defending their championship title. On the same day, Hajduk defeated league leaders Partizan 1-0 at home, which meant that going into the final round, the Belgrade black-and-whites had 44 points, the Split whites 43, and the Zagreb blues 42. True, Dinamo still had the "crazy" theory working for them with potential alignment of other results in the final round and unrealistically high scorelines that would help them reach the required goal difference. However, this was not within realistic parameters.

In Sarajevo, Marijan Vlak, Velimir Zajec, Srećko Bogdan, Stjepan Deverić could not play... The home side took the lead in the 17th minute when they intercepted a pass from the Maksimir defenders while playing out from the back, and former Dinamo junior, later a regular Yugoslav international Davor Jozić, scored for the lead. Although Dinamo dominated in the second half and created chances, they only found the net a minute before the end, earning a point. Milivoj Bračun provided the cross, and Snješko Cerin scored. The Blues finished the season in third place with two points fewer than champions Partizan and the same points tally as second-placed Hajduk.