December 9, 2019 - The 18th round of the Croatian First League was held from December 6 to 8, 2019. A draw for Hajduk against Inter kept them in 2nd place, but pushed them to nine points behind Dinamo who sits in 1st. Rijeka is now just one point behind Hajduk in 3rd.
Dinamo v. Varazdin (1:0)
Dinamo and Varazdin opened the 18th round on Friday, December 6, 2019, at Maksimir stadium in front of 1,471 spectators.
While the first half went without goals, Dinamo narrowly won with a goal by Gavranovic in the 77th minute for 1:0.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 41 points, while Varazdin is in 9th place with 12 points.
Gorica v. Slaven Belupo (2:0)
Gorica and Belupo met in Velika Gorica on Saturday, December 7, 2019.
Belupo’s Goda saw a straight red card in the 9th minute, forcing the away side to play with a man down for nearly the entire game. Gorica found it easy to capitalize on their player advantage and scored both goals in the 18th and 34th minute thanks to Zwolinski and Lovric.
A double yellow for Ndiaye in the 53rd minute equaled the playing field, though neither team was able to score in the second half.
Gorica is currently in 6th place with 28 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 18.
Inter Zapresic v. Hajduk (1:1)
Inter and Hajduk met in Zagreb on Saturday, December 7, 2019, in front of 1,620 fans.
An own goal by Hajduk’s Simic in the 26th minute put Inter in the lead for 1:0, though Eduok was able to equalize for Hajduk to make the game 1:1 at the half, which was also the final score of the game.
Inter is currently in the last place with 12 points, while Hajduk is in 2nd with 32.
Osijek v. Lokomotiva (4:0)
Osijek and Lokomotiva met at City Garden Stadium on Sunday, December 8, 2019, in front of 1,533 spectators.
While the first half went without goals, Osijek made up for their absence in the net in the second half, scoring all four goals then (Maric 55’, Pilj 78’, Kleinheisler 82’, Bockaj 92’).
Lokomotiva’s Kastrati was also given his second yellow of the game in the 62nd minute
Osijek is currently in 4th place with 30 points, while Lokomotiva is in 5th with 28.
Rijeka v. Istra 1961 (2:0)
Rijeka and Istra closed out the 18th round at Rujevica on December 8, 2019,in front of 4,675 spectators.
An own goal by Galilea put Rijeka in the lead in the 15th minute, while Muric increased the lead for the home side with a goal in the 27th.
Rijeka is currently in 3rd place with 31 points, while Istra is in 8th with 12.
You can see the full HNL table here.
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