Osijek thrashed Dinamo 4:2 and took the top spot in the HNL: León scored twice in a big win at the Opus Arena
Osijek defeated reigning Croatian champions Dinamo 4:2 at the Opus Arena on Saturday, September 12, 2026, in a 7th-round match of the SuperSport Croatian Football League and moved into first place in the league standings with the victory. The home side produced one of its most convincing performances of the season so far, creating the decisive difference through an aggressive start to the match and efficiency at moments when Dinamo was trying to establish control. Armando León scored the first two goals, Luka Vrbančić made it 3:0, while Domagoj Bukvić sealed the victory late on. Miha Zajc and Smail Prevljak scored for Dinamo, but the visitors' comeback was halted in the final seconds of the match. According to the official SuperSport HNL report, the Zagreb side suffered its first defeat in domestic football since November 2025, as well as its first league defeat of this season.
Osijek responded after two heavy defeats
The result against Dinamo carries additional weight because of the circumstances in which Osijek entered the match. Federico Bessone's team had lost 4:1 away to Rijeka in the league just a week earlier and was then eliminated from the Croatian Football Cup by Segesta after a 3:1 defeat. It was an unpleasant run that raised the question of how the young Osijek team would react under pressure, especially against an opponent that entered the season as defending champions. Instead of sitting back, Osijek tried to impose high intensity against Dinamo from the opening minutes, and Bessone highlighted precisely that approach after the match. The Osijek coach told MAXSport, according to Sport Klub's report, that the team wanted to press high and that effective pressing was one of the main reasons for the victory. He also stressed that he was particularly pleased with the players' reaction after a very demanding week.
Osijek thus demonstrated an ability to respond quickly after two setbacks in terms of results, something that at this early stage of the season is almost as important as the three points themselves. In previous league rounds, the team had already shown its attacking potential, including a 6:1 win over Rudeš and a 3:0 victory against Slaven Belupo, but defeats to Hajduk and Rijeka had highlighted major fluctuations. The match with Dinamo was therefore a test of stability and character, and the hosts passed it in a way that changed the mood surrounding the team. After the match, Bessone described the victory as the biggest of his coaching career, emphasizing that it was particularly significant because it came after a turbulent period. For Osijek, it was also an important answer to the question of whether the team can compete on equal terms with the league's leading sides.
León opened the match with two goals
The first goal arrived as early as the 12th minute. According to the league's official report, Armando León was accurate with a header and gave Osijek an early lead, providing the hosts with additional energy to continue their aggressive approach. Dinamo tried to stabilize after conceding, but Osijek did not give up its pressure or its search for space behind the visitors' lines. In the 35th minute, León was once again in the right place and scored from a rebound to make it 2:0. Such a development allowed the home side to go into the break with a significant advantage and clear tactical capital for the second half. For Dinamo, on the other hand, the first half was one of its weakest of the season so far.
The two-goal scorer also became a symbol of the broader story of changes in Osijek's attack. In July 2026, León became the first Mexican footballer in NK Osijek's history, the club announced when he signed. The 26-year-old striker, born in Ensenada, developed as a footballer in Pachuca's system, and before joining Osijek he played in Andorra for FC Ranger's. He had already worked there with coach Federico Bessone, meaning his arrival at the Opus Arena was not a move made without prior knowledge of the player and his characteristics. Following a summer trial and appearances in friendly matches, Osijek signed him to a one-year contract with an option to extend for another season. His two goals against Dinamo were therefore also the strongest confirmation of the confidence the coaching staff had placed in him during the summer.
Vrbančić made it 3:0, followed by Dinamo's quick response
Osijek did not begin the second half with the intention of defending the result deep in front of its own goal. In the 60th minute, the hosts launched a quick counterattack, which Luka Vrbančić finished with a goal to make it 3:0. It was a moment when the derby appeared to be completely decided, but Dinamo responded almost immediately. Miha Zajc reduced the deficit in the very next attack, in the 62nd minute, restoring the visitors' hope that the match was not over yet. That goal changed the rhythm of the closing stages, as Osijek had to manage its lead more carefully while Dinamo went in search of another goal that would make the match completely open again. The hosts nevertheless maintained a two-goal advantage for a long time and avoided a scenario in which the visitors' pressure would turn into a complete comeback.
The drama intensified in stoppage time. Smail Prevljak converted a penalty in the 92nd minute to make it 3:2, giving Dinamo a few more minutes to attempt an equalizer. Instead of a visitors' comeback, however, the final big moment belonged to Osijek. In the 96th minute, Domagoj Bukvić took advantage of a mistake by the visiting defense and scored into an empty net for the final 4:2. The official HNL report cites that goal as the final confirmation of the victory after a period in which Dinamo had managed to restore uncertainty. The closing stages thus delivered six goals, a late penalty and a response from the home side in the final moments, but the fundamental impression remained the same: Osijek played with more courage, energy and directness for most of the match.
Kovačević admitted that Dinamo was not at its level
Dinamo coach Mario Kovačević did not try to diminish the quality of the opponent after the match. In a statement to MAXSport, carried by Sport Klub, he congratulated Osijek and assessed that the home side had been better and covered more ground. He stated that it had been Dinamo's worst match since he took charge of the team, although he singled out as a positive the fact that his players did not give up even after conceding the third goal. Dinamo did indeed manage to come back from 3:0 to 3:2 and take the match into a tense finish, but the serious deficit created in the opening hour showed how far the team had fallen behind the hosts' rhythm. For a club defending the title, such a defeat represents a warning, particularly because it came against a direct rival from the upper part of the standings.
The defeat is additionally interesting in the context of Dinamo's form before the trip to Osijek. The team had beaten Gorica 1:0 in the previous league round, and three days before the derby in Osijek it defeated Bedem from Ivankovo 4:0 in the Croatian Cup. Ahead of the away match, Kovačević said on Dinamo's official website that the team was in good condition and ready for the encounter, with the ill Bruno Goda unavailable. However, the match at the Opus Arena showed how quickly the momentum can be changed by an opponent that manages to impose the tempo early and take its chances. Dinamo must now analyze its defensive mistakes and the way it lost duels and space in key phases of the match. At the same time, the fact that the team came back to 3:2 shows that there was a reaction after the poor start, but it came too late.
Top spot as a reward for the fifth victory
With the victory against Dinamo, Osijek reached 15 points from seven league matches, meaning five wins and two defeats. According to the official SuperSport HNL table available on September 14, Osijek is in first place with two points more than Hajduk, Dinamo and Varaždin, who each have 13 points and one match fewer than Osijek. Rijeka is on 11 points, also having played fewer matches than the Osijek side. Such a standings situation confirms how tight the beginning of the season is and how much a single direct encounter can change the balance of power at the top. Osijek has also scored 17 goals and conceded 11 after seven appearances, reflecting the highly open profile of a team that creates a lot but also occasionally leaves space for its opponents.
For Bessone's team, it is particularly important that it secured the leading position precisely against Dinamo. Osijek entered the season without the status of first favorite for the title, but after seven rounds it has shown that it can produce enough attacking quality to compete with the strongest clubs. Victories against Gorica, Rudeš, Lokomotiva, Slaven Belupo and Dinamo brought 15 points, while defeats to Hajduk and Rijeka revealed areas that still require improvement. Therefore, top spot in the standings at the beginning of September does not provide final answers, but it gives Osijek a strong results-based foundation for the continuation of the autumn. In a league where the leading teams are separated by only a small number of points, victories in head-to-head meetings have double value: they bring points to one's own team while simultaneously denying them to a direct rival.
Bessone's pressing and the energy of the young players
One of the most important messages of the match was Osijek's willingness not to abandon its own identity against the reigning champions. After the encounter, Bessone stressed that the idea was not to wait for Dinamo but to attack it with high pressing from the start. Such a plan was visible in the home team's energy and the speed of its transitions from winning the ball to finishing attacks. Osijek took advantage of the fact that Dinamo was unable to develop possession calmly and created situations from pressing and transitions that ended in goals. Particularly important was the contribution of players who are still building their roles in the team, such as Vrbančić and Bukvić, because their goals showed that the attacking output did not depend on just one player. León was the main figure of the first half, but the team's depth decided the match after the break.
Such a style, however, also carries risks. After taking a 3:0 lead, Osijek did not completely close down the space, and Dinamo showed in a short period how quickly a quality team can punish a drop in concentration. Zajc's goal immediately after the hosts' third goal opened up the closing stages, while Prevljak's stoppage-time penalty further increased the pressure. Bessone himself warned after the match that there was no room for relaxation ahead of the next challenges. That is an important message for a team that, in just the opening few rounds, has already experienced the journey from convincing victories to heavy defeats and back again. If Osijek wants to remain near the top beyond the opening phase of the championship, it will have to develop greater control of matches when it builds a significant lead, in addition to its attacking energy.
What comes next for Osijek and Dinamo
According to the SuperSport HNL schedule, Osijek visits Varaždin in the 8th round on September 19, a team that is also among the group of clubs near the top of the table. That match will be another indicator of whether the Osijek side can confirm its victory against Dinamo and maintain continuity after such a major result. Bessone already said after the derby that he expects a difficult match and that his team must not allow itself to relax. Given how close the leading group is, the encounter in Varaždin could have a direct impact on the standings. Osijek enters it with great confidence, but also with a fresh reminder of how quickly form can fluctuate.
Dinamo hosts Lokomotiva at Maksimir in the league on September 20. For the reigning champions, it will be an opportunity for a quick response in the HNL after their first league defeat of the season, although the September schedule also brings European commitments. Even before the match in Osijek, the club was already in the rhythm of playing on several fronts, something Kovačević also emphasized in his preview of the game. As a result, managing the team's workload, rotations and reaction after the defeat will be an important part of the coming period. Dinamo remains among the main candidates for the title, but the 2:4 result showed that this season there is no room for entering a match without maximum intensity.
For Osijek, on the other hand, the victory against Dinamo is more than an attractive result in front of the home crowd. It came after two heavy defeats, against the reigning champions and at a moment when the team needed confirmation that its early successes had not been a coincidence. León's two goals, Vrbančić's finish to the counterattack and Bukvić's confirmation in the 96th minute turned the Opus Arena into the stage for one of the most memorable matches of the opening part of the season. Osijek took the top spot in the championship, while Dinamo received a serious warning that defending the title will require greater stability. At this early stage of the competition, no position is permanent yet, but a 4:2 victory against the champions is a result that clearly changes the perception of what the Osijek team is capable of.
Sources:
- SuperSport HNL - official report of the Osijek - Dinamo 4:2 match, goalscorers, course of the match and standings context (link)
- SuperSport HNL - official NK Osijek page, current standings, results and schedule (link)
- NK Osijek - official announcement of Armando León's arrival and his career before signing for Osijek (link)
- Sport Klub - statement by Osijek coach Federico Bessone after the victory against Dinamo (link)
- Sport Klub - statement by Dinamo coach Mario Kovačević after the defeat at the Opus Arena (link)
- GNK Dinamo - official preview of the away match in Osijek and the condition of the team ahead of the game (link)