After a record-breaking loss in the opening match of this season’s Champions League campaign against Bayern Munich, with a score of 9-2, Dinamo Zagreb played three excellent games, achieving two wins and one draw.
These seven points are currently enough for an impressive 16th position in the standings of the reformed Champions League.
Following an away win against Salzburg, they also defeated Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia in the previous round with a score of 4-1, marking the first time in their history that they have secured back-to-back away victories in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Once again, young striker Sandro Kulenović excelled with two goals, showing that a bright future lies ahead of him.
On the other side, last season’s Champions League finalists, Borussia Dortmund, have once again emerged as early contenders for a high finish this season. In the first four matches of the new season, Dortmund recorded three wins and one loss.
Admittedly, their schedule at the start of the competition has been quite favorable, so wins in all games except the one against Real Madrid were more or less expected. Their latest victory, against Sturm at home, was hard-fought.
The Yellow Submarine struggled for more than 80 minutes to break the resistance of a determined opponent, but Dutch international Donyell Malen appeared and, with his second goal of the season, secured a valuable win for his team.
In the coming period, Dortmund also have a favorable schedule, providing a great opportunity to achieve more wins and further cement their position at the top of the table.
Kudos to Dinamo Zagreb for their performances in the Champions League so far and for mentally bouncing back after the record-breaking loss in the first match, but their fairy-tale run will soon come to an end.
Realistically, this team lacks the quality needed to consistently achieve positive results in the Champions League. They’re paying the price in their domestic league, where they currently sit in third place and have failed to win their last two matches.
Additionally, one of their reliable players, Petar Sučić, picked up an injury during training, leaving them significantly weakened for the upcoming games.
Meanwhile, Dortmund come into this match on the back of a dominant 4-0 victory against a strong Freiburg side in the Bundesliga, sending a clear message to their next opponent. A victory for the German side seems inevitable.
