Dinamo Zagreb lose at Hadjuk Split, Aberdeen slip up at Hearts

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The Celtic Star

·2 December 2024

Dinamo Zagreb lose at Hadjuk Split, Aberdeen slip up at Hearts

Celtic’s next Champions League opponents Dinamo Zagreb suffered a 1-0 defeat in the league to Hadjuk Split over the weekend while Aberdeen drop two points at Tynecastle…

Hadjuk Split 1 Dinamo Zagreb 0. Photo Hadjuk Split FC

With matchday six of Europe’s elite club competition looming a week tomorrow, Dinamo Zagreb’s domestic form has been underwhelming of late.

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Derby defeat for Dinamo Zagreb

A sore 1-0 loss away to league leaders Hadjuk Split on Sunday afternoon means Nenad Bjelica’s side after 15 games have fallen seven points behind top spot, and trail Rijeka in second place by four points.

The Croats have only won one of their last five league matches, and despite overperforming in the new 36-team format on the continent, Zagreb are underperforming in their domestic environs.

Albeit on the end of a humiliation from Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener, ‘The Blues,’ have recovered from a stinging defeat with credible performances and results.

Sergej Jakirovic was sacked after that now infamous 9-2 loss away to last season’s Bundesliga runners-up and since then the Croatian champions have not looked back in the competition.

Recovery after 9-2 hammering in Munich

Wins on the road to firstly RB Salzburg and then Slovan Bratislava has seen Zagreb rack up the points. A 2-2 draw on matchday two at Maskimir Stadium with Ligue 1 side Monaco kickstarted their impressive campaign thus far.

In their most recent outing in the Champions League, Bjelica’s men were beaten 3-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund. Celtic know fine well how difficult an opponent Nuri Sahin’s side can be.

Lingering on the precipice of history, Dinamo Zagreb can qualify for a knockout round playoff tie themselves with a victory over the Hoops. Currently sitting 23rd in the table on seven points, a win would secure a lucrative top 24 place.

Dropping points to Celtic would be ominous for Dinamo Zagreb

However, dropping points to Celtic and it would start to look ominous for Zagreb. There remaining two matches in January are Arsenal at the Emirates, followed by AC Milan in Croatia’s capital. They will surely see their home game against Celtic as their best chance of the three remaining matches to pick up three points to achieve qualification for the knock-out stages.

Prior to Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic meeting in eight days time, the hosts will prepare for the encounter with a crucial league match at home to mid-table Slaven on Friday night. Celtic have two matches in an extremely busy schedule, with a trip to Pittodrie in midweek followed by a home match at Celtic Park on Saturday against Hibs.

Aberdeen close the gap with a draw at Tynecastle

Aberdeen closed the gap on Celtic yesterday to four points with Jimmy Thelin’s side having played a game more than the leaders. The 1-1 draw Hearts means that Aberdeen have now dropped seven points in their run of three consecutive away matches against St Mirren, Hibs and Hearts and now are in desperate need of a win over a relentless Celtic on Wednesday night if they are to maintain their challenge for the title.

Celtic go into the game in fine form after the impressive display on Saturday afternoon against Ross County at Celtic Park with Brendan Rodgers’ side securing the points with a five goal first half blitz.

Conor Spence

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