The Blues secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a historic comeback against Tottenham, featuring an unforgettable hat-trick from Mislav Oršić and brilliant saves from Dominik Livaković. There, Spanish side Villarreal awaited them. In this first encounter at Maksimir, the Spaniards won 1-0 from a generously awarded penalty. The decisive moment in the Maksimir clash came right at the end of the first half. The visitors' most dangerous player, striker Gerard Moreno, was looking for position to shoot in Dinamo's penalty area on the left side, with Kevin Theophile closely marking him. However, when Moreno skillfully turned towards goal, the ball struck the Dinamo defender's hand from close range. German referee Daniel Siebert pointed to the penalty spot, which Moreno immediately converted. Dinamo pressed in the 10th minute and came close to scoring three times in quick succession. First, Lovro Majer shot from about 20 metres, the ball deflected off a block straight into the corner, but goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli managed to parry it for a corner. Two consecutive corner kicks followed, with Iyayi Atiemwen first attempting a header, which the home side cleared practically off the goal line, before Theophile at the 'far post', also with a header, sent the ball wide of the goal. At the other end, Livaković stood out with several brilliant saves. The Blues prematurely celebrated a goal in the 26th minute until the assistant referee raised his flag for offside. It was an attractive move in which Atiemwen and Mislav Oršić broke through the opposition defence with two consecutive one-two passes. Oršić managed to put the ball in the net, but the goal was not allowed. Livaković faced perhaps his toughest test in the 70th minute when Manu Trigueros fired powerfully from 20 metres, the ball deflected off a block just under the crossbar, but the Maksimir goalkeeper parried it for a corner. Villarreal won the return leg 2-1 and advanced to the semi-finals.