RIJEKA. Rijeka was eventually too strong for Osijek with the goal of V. Hodza was the key of the match after he scored in the 62nd, 23rd and 21st minute. Veldin Hodza (21′), Veldin Hodza (23′) and Veldin Hodza (62′).

The match was played at the Stadion HNK Rijeka stadium in Rijeka on Sunday and it started at 3:00 pm local time. In front of 6,718 spectators.​ The referee was Duje Strukan with the assistance of Alen Jakšić and Goran Perica. The 4th official was Ante Terzić.

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

Osijek was in firm control of the ball 55% while Rijeka was struggling with a 45% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Rijeka was more pushing with 62 dangerous attacks and 15 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Rijeka won the match​.

Rijeka shot 15 times, 7 on target, 7 off target. On the opposite side, Osijek shot 4 times, 1 on target, 3 off target.

Cards

Rijeka received 1 yellow card (Danilo Veiga). On the opposite side, Osijek received 2 yellow cards (Petar Pušić and Enis Cokaj).

Standings

After this match, Rijeka has 56 points to remain in the 1st place. Regarding the opposition, Osijek will stays with 36 points like Lokomotiva Zagreb to hold in the 4th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the 1. HNL, Rijeka will play away with Slaven Koprivnica on the 16th of March with a 33-11 head to head in favor of Rijeka (18 draws).

Osijek will play away against Rudeš on the 27th of January with a 8-1 head to head statistic in favor of Osijek (2 draws).

Rijeka – Formation

Rijeka started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

The manager Željko Sopić decided to play with the following team: Nediljko Labrovic (7.0), Danilo Veiga (6.7), Niko Galesic (7.1), Stjepan Radeljic (7.7), Bruno Goda (7.3), Veldin Hodza (9.5), Lindon Selahi (8.1), Marco Pasalic (7.7), Toni Fruk (8.5), Marko Pjaca (7.0) and Mirko Marić (7.5).

The home team had on the bench: Lovro Kitin, Niko Jankovic, Matej Mitrovic (7.0), Jorge Obregón (6.6), Emmanuel Banda (6.6), Martin Zlomislic, Dejan Petrovic (6.8), Alen Grgic, Bruno Bogojevic, Emir Dilaver, Franjo Ivanovic (6.4) and Momo Yansane.

Substitutions

Rijeka made 5 changes: Mirko Marić for Jorge Obregón (66′), Danilo Veiga for Matej Mitrovic (66′), Marko Pjaca for Franjo Ivanovic (73′), Toni Fruk for Dejan Petrovic (74′) and Veldin Hodza for Emmanuel Banda (83′).

Player of the match: Veldin Hodza​

The most impressive player for Rijeka was Veldin Hodza.

His rating is 9.5 with 3 goals, 21 passes (76% accurate) and 1 key pass. He won 4 duels out of 7.

Osijek – Formation

Osijek started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

Zoran Zekić played with: Marko Malenica (6.7), Nail Omerović (5.3), André Duarte (6.4), Slavko Bralić (6.7), Roko Jurisic (6.8), Enis Cokaj (6.7), Darko Nejašmić (7.0), Vedran Jugović (6.3), Domagoj Bukvić (6.3), Anton Matković (6.8) and Petar Pušić (6.6).

The following players were sitting on the bench: Krešimir Vrbanac (6.8), Styopa Mkrtchyan, Šime Gržan (6.4), Marin Prekodravac (6.6), Petar Brlek, Luka Zebec, Franko Kolić, Amar Zahirović, Renan Guedes (6.6), Oleksandr Drambaev, Šimun Mikolčić and Ladislav Almási (6.7).

Substitutions

Osijek made 4 changes: Domagoj Bukvić for Ladislav Almási (46′), Enis Cokaj for Marin Prekodravac (46′), Anton Matković for Šime Gržan (54′) and Vedran Jugović for Renan Guedes (71′).

Player of the match: Darko Nejašmić​

The player that probably impressed the most for Osijek was Darko Nejašmić.

His rating is 7.0 with 51 passes (86% accurate) and 1 key pass. He won 5 duels out of 10. He performed 2 crosses.

Results of the day

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

• Rijeka – Osijek – 3-0
• Dinamo Zagreb – Slaven Koprivnica – 5-2