The Maksimir club had just started that autumn a run of five consecutive championship titles. The first serious station on that path was the derby clash in the 8th round. Croatia won 1-0, and the hero of the match was the "blue number 9" Mark Viduka, who that afternoon also scored his first goal in the HNL.

The Blues were led from the bench by coach Zlatko Cico Kranjčar, while the opposing team was managed by his colleague Ivan Katalinić... On that occasion, for instance, the new "anthem" of the then Croatia was played for the first time over the Maksimir stadium speakers, which the blue supporters naturally greeted with fierce whistles due to the imposed name.

The Blues threatened in the 10th minute when Dževad Turković shot from 18 metres, but goalkeeper Tonči Gabrić saved the ball with a fine stop, punching it out of play.

The celebrated "blue number ten", Marko Mlinarić, who had celebrated his 35th birthday three weeks earlier on September 1st, was one of the driving forces of the Maksimir team in this derby. He was creating play for his teammates, initiating attacks... However, the match didn't feature many clear-cut chances. Mlinarić started the move for the winning goal in the 29th minute. He drove the attack through the middle of the pitch, played through Viduka who executed a one-two pass with Joško Jeličić on the edge of the penalty area before calmly placing the ball into the net past the advancing goalkeeper.

Dario Šimić went down the right flank in the 60th minute, chipped the advancing goalkeeper Gabrić, but Split defender Mirsad Hibić managed to clear the ball in the six-yard box with a jumping header past Viduka.

The Blues played with ten men from the 81st minute after Silvio Marić received his second yellow card for pulling an opponent's shirt.

After eight rounds, the Blues were at the top with 21 points, followed by Hajduk with 17... However, this was a season with a "wild" competition format. Croatia had a five-point advantage over their closest pursuers, Hajduk, after the first 22 rounds, but the system then included a "redistribution" of points before the playoffs, namely before the Championship League and the Relegation League. The existing points were wiped clean, and the leading team from the first part entered the playoffs with five points, second place with four, third with three... Such a system automatically reduced the Blues' point advantage over the Whites from five to just one point. The Maksimir club eventually became champions, but with the same number of points as the Split side, even though they had actually earned four more points throughout the entire season.