Just four points earned in the first four rounds weren't exactly a harbinger of great results... It was the start of a season that the Zagreb side finished as champions, but we remember those days not only for the trophy but also for the attractive, attacking performances, for football that was a treat for connoisseurs.

The story ignited in the unforgettable "blue spring", but the first big victory in the autumn part of the competition came on September 23, 1981, when the blues defeated Partizan Belgrade 1-0 in the Maksimir derby. They had entered the season with four consecutive draws, but after that it finally opened up. Dinamo immediately went on to beat Teteks, Sarajevo and Zagreb, then slipped up in Novi Sad where Vojvodina defeated them. The ninth round brought a clash between the first and second teams on the table: a showdown between Dinamo and Partizan. The Belgrade side had one point more at that moment...

Dinamo played most of the match with ten men on the pitch. Boro Cvetković earned a red card in the 32nd minute after attacking opposing defender Miodrag Radović during a break in play. Radović had previously stopped him with a foul, but Cvetković's heated subsequent reaction left the team with a "personnel deficit" for the remaining hour of play.

"It was a good game, and the atmosphere at our stadium was fantastic. We were motivated 'to the maximum' – they were first, and we were trying to 'knock them off'. In the fateful 32nd minute for me, a Partizan player roughly caught me when I was getting past him. I fell. My leg hurt, but what was even worse was that he fell on me. He pinned my arm so I couldn't get up. In trying to free my arm, I started pushing him away harder with my hand, which could have created the impression that I was hitting him. But that wasn't my intention and I'm even more sorry because of that," popular Boro said after the match.

However, it was his last appearance that season as he left for military service in October.

Despite being a man down, the blues managed to take the lead shortly after, in the 40th minute. Zoran Panić took a free kick near the penalty area, on the right side along the goal line. In the continuation of the move, Dragan Bošnjak cleverly sent the ball into space, and Stjepan Deverić found his way to the net. Dinamo took the lead and maintained it until the end. An additional problem arose in the 55th minute when the pillar of Maksimir's defense, captain Velimir Zajec, had to leave the pitch due to injury. He was replaced by young Mladen Munjaković.

Among the heroes of the victory was Zlatan Arnautović, who some media proclaimed as the best player of the match. He carried the biggest burden in the defensive line, especially when the blues were a man down and when they were left without their injured captain. Arnautović, with timely reactions and excellent aerial play, managed to clear the danger and help preserve the hard-earned lead.

With this victory, Dinamo "dethroned" Partizan from the top of the table. The blues were first with 12 points, the same as Rijeka and Osijek. One point behind were OFK Belgrade, Partizan, Red Star and Hajduk.