RIJEKA. Rijeka conquers Istra 1961 1-0 after J. Obregon scored just 1 goal (82′). Rijeka capitalized on its better ball possession (59%).

The match was played at the Stadion HNK Rijeka stadium in Rijeka on Saturday and it started at 5:05 pm local time. The referee was Jakov Titlić assisted by Goran Perica and Željko Bučar. The 4th official was Marino Majstorović. The weather was clear. The temperature was quite cold at 6.1 degrees Celsius or 42.89 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 42%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

Rijeka was in firm control of the ball 59% while Istra 1961 was struggling with a 41% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Rijeka was more pushing with 104 dangerous attacks and 11 shots of which 4 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Rijeka won the match.​

Istra 1961 shot 6 times, 2 on target, 4 off target. On the other side, Rijeka shot 11 times, 4 on target, 7 off target.

Cards

None of the teams received any yellow card.

Standings

After this match, Istra 1961 will stay with 18 points to hold in the 9th place. Regarding the opposition, Rijeka will have 40 points to remain in the 1st place.

Next matches

In the next match in the 1. HNL, Istra 1961 will host Gorica on the 29th of January with a 7-1 head to head stats in favor of Gorica (7 draws).

Rijeka will play away agasint Dinamo Zagreb on the 29th of January with a 28-11 head to head in favor of Dinamo Zagreb (16 draws).

Istra 1961 – Formation

Istra 1961 adopted the extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).

The manager Goran Tomić decided to play with the following team: Gonzalo Collao (7.1), João Silva (6.6), Einar Galilea (6.3), Mauro Perković (6.2), Luka Hujber (6.2), Facundo Cáseres (7.7), Frano Mlinar (6.8), Luka Marin (6.8), Mateo Lisica (6.7), Robert Mišković (6.8) and Hassane Bandé (6.5).

The home team had on the bench: Lovro Majkić, Erhun Obanor, Damjan Daničić (6.1), Fran Vujnović, Gonzalo Desio, Mihael Rovis, Miroslav Iličić, Dion Drena Beljo (6.3) and Serder Serderov (6.8).

Substitutions

Istra 1961 made 3 changes: L. Marin for D. Danicic (52′), R. Miskovic for D. Drena Beljo (70′) and H. Bande for S. Serderov (80′).

Best player: Facundo Cáseres​

The player that probably impressed the most for Istra 1961 was Facundo Cáseres.

His rating is (7.7) with 37 passes (89% accurate) and 1 key pass. He was won 12 duels out of 16.

Rijeka – Formation

Also Rijeka adopted the extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).

Gonzalo Manuel García García played with: Nediljko Labrović (7.4), Anton Krešić (7.1), Darko Velkovski (7.8), Hrvoje Smolčić (8.0), Ivan Tomečak (7.5), Lindon Selahi (6.9), Domagoj Pavičić (7.0), Matej Vuk (6.8), Robert Murić (8.1), Josip Drmić (6.9) and Issah Abass (6.6).

The following players were sitting on the bench: Martin Zlomislić, Filip Braut, Nino Galović, Andrija Vukčević (7.3), João Escoval, Ivan Lepinjica, Adam Gnezda Čerin (6.3), Denis Bušnja (7.0) and Jorge Obregon (7.2).

Substitutions

Rijeka made 5 changes: I. Abass for J. Obregon (46′), M. Vuk for A. Vukcevic (46′), L. Selahi for A. Gnezda Cerin (63′), D. Velkovski for D. Busnja (81′) and J. Drmic for I. Lepinjica (90′).

Best player: Robert Murić​

As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Rijeka was Robert Murić even if he didn’t score the decisive goal.

His rating is (8.1) with 33 passes (78% accurate) and 4 key passes. He was won 3 duels out of 6. He performed 15 crosses. He hit the woodwork once times.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the 1. HNL.​

• Gorica – Šibenik – 2-3
• Rijeka – Istra 1961 – 1-0