September 13, 2021 - The 8th round of the Croatian First League was played from September 10 to 12, 2021. This saw a Marko Livaja hattrick for the Hajduk win, while Dinamo and Rijeka celebrated victories at home. Here is our HNL round 8 recap.
Gorica v. Hr. Dragovoljac (1:1)
Gorica and Dragovoljac opened the 8th round on Friday, September 10, 2021, in Velika Gorica.
While the first half went without goals, Gorica's Stojanovski scored the first goal of the match which was ruled offside by VAR in the 56th minute. Lovrić missed a penalty for Gorica 7 minutes later, but Babec scored a minute after that for the 1:0 Gorica lead. Strkalj equalized in the 74th minute for the final 1:1.
Gorica is currently in 5th place with 15 points, while Dragovoljac is in the last place with 4.
Dinamo v. Šibenik (2:0)
Dinamo and Šibenik met at Maksimir Stadium on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
It was another match with a scoreless first half. Lauritsen scored for the Dinamo lead in the 68th minute, which Ivanušec increased to 2:0 10 minutes later.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 16 points (and one game less), while Šibenik is in 7th with 7.
Rijeka v. Slaven Belupo (2:1)
Rijeka and Slaven Belupo met at Rujevica Stadium on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
After a 0:0 first half, Hadzic put Belupo in the lead in the 63rd minute. However, that didn't last long, as Drmić equalized for 1:1 in the 78th minute before scoring his second goal in the 85th minute for 2:1.
Rijeka is currently in 3rd place with 16 points (and one game less), while Belupo is in 9th place with 5 points.
Istra 1961 v. Hajduk (1:3)
Istra and Hajduk met in Pula on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
The lack of goals in the first half was redeemed by Marko Livaja, who put Hajduk up 0:1 thanks to a penalty in the 51st minute. A second penalty was awarded to Hajduk 6 minutes later, which Livaja scored for 0:2. Livaja's hattrick came in the 74th minute for the 0:3 lead. Drena got one goal for Istra in the 87th minute for a final score of 1:3.
Istra is currently in 8th place with 6 points (and one game less), while Hajduk is in 2nd with 16.
Lokomotiva v. Osijek (1:1)
Lokomotiva and Osijek closed out the 8th round on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
The match's first goal was scored in the 70th minute, thanks to Dabro for the Lokomotiva lead. A double-yellow for Fiolić forced Osijek to play with a man down from the 75th minute. Topcagic was able to equalize in the 3rd minute of added time for the final 1:1 draw.
Lokomotiva is currently in 6th place with 11 points (and one game less), while Osijek is in 4th with 14.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
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