After a great start to the Europa League, Dinamo’s players suffered two heavy defeats against Celta and Lille, and on Thursday they face a new challenge at the Maksimir Stadium, a match against Real Betis.
Dinamo won against Fenerbahce (3-1) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-3) in the first three rounds, and drew against Malmo (1-1). After three rounds, “Modri” held an excellent fourth place. However, a home defeat to Celta (0-3) and an away defeat to Lille (0-4) followed, after which the Croatian runner-up fell to 23rd place.
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As a reminder, teams from first to eighth place advance directly to the round of 16, while clubs from 9th to 24th place enter the play-off knockout stages, or the round of 8. The remaining 12 clubs are eliminated from the competition at the end of the league stage.
Dinamo are currently on the brink. A win against Betis would certainly bring the Blues closer to the European spring, while another failure would jeopardize their chances of progressing. Real Betis are currently fifth with 11 points, just one point behind the leading trio of Lyon, Aston Villa and Midtjylland.
Unlike the announcements of the matches against Karlovac, Varaždin and Hajduk, when Dinamo did not hold press conferences but instead sent pre-recorded announcements, Mario Kovačević appeared before the press on the eve of the European match.
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Namely, in the HNL, clubs are not required to hold press conferences before matches, but only after. On the other hand, according to UEFA regulations, Dinamo must hold a press conference before and after European matches.
Dinamo’s strategist against Betis cannot count on Moris Valinčić and Mateo Lisica, who have been ruled out for a long time. Monsef Bakrar suffered a knock against Hajduk and his performance is questionable. Luka Stojković, who was not eligible to play against Hajduk due to a red card, is back in the competition for the squad. Fran Topić is also on the list.
Namely, Dinamo used the rule according to which UEFA allows the change of players on the registered list if it is a question of a serious injury or illness. Since Lisica has mononucleosis and is out for a long time, Dinamo reported Topić. Noa Mikić, who received an awkward blow to the head in the match against Hajduk, should also be ready.
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“After two tough games, the toughest test in the group follows. Betis is the strongest of our opponents,” said Dinamo’s strategist.
“We have to do better if we want to advance, we are aware that it will not be easy. We were good against Hajduk, that is the path I have to take against Betis,” he added.
Dinamo has one more European test and two league games to play before the end of the year.
“All the games are the most important. We need points in Europe, but also in the HNL. We want to advance, they are all important.”
Due to their good coefficient, Dinamo did not have to play in the qualifiers this summer, so Kovačević could not put the team through the qualifiers against “weaker” opponents.
“That had its advantages and disadvantages. We had to put together a team made up of new players, and it wasn’t easy. That start was good, then there was a small crisis, but now we’re getting back on our feet.”
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After Celta, Dinamo will face a new Spanish rival. Kovačević hopes they have learned their lesson after their heavy defeat to the team from Vigo.
“I believe we will get something out of that game. We have to be tougher, Betis has even better individuals. We have to be brave. Against Celta, the start was bad and that was the deciding factor,” he said.
Dinamo committed the fewest fouls of all Europa League clubs in the first five rounds.
“We are aware that against such teams we have to be more aggressive and tougher. We are working on it, it has to be better.”
He also commented on Topić’s entry into the European “roster”.
“We had a problem in that position. There is no Valinčić, and now there is no Lisica either. That is exactly why it is important for us that he has the right to play. We are seriously counting on him,” concluded Dinamo’s coach.
Scottish stopper Scott McKenna was also at the press conference.
“Betis is a good team, they come from a strong league. We have a tough game ahead of us. We want to make up for two defeats in front of our fans,” he said.
Dinamo has conceded as many as seven goals in its last two European matches.
“We conceded seven goals, which is really too much. We have to play better. We have to focus, we are not at the level we expected after a great start. We played well against Hajduk, we have to continue like that, I believe the result will come.”
The Scot wore the shirt of Las Palmas last season, but missed both games against Betis.
“I didn’t play against Betis due to injury. They are a very good team, they have good individuals. We will have to be careful.”
After a great start, Dinamo has suffered two defeats, and there are still three rounds left in the competition.
“After a great start, two disappointments followed. We have three more games, tomorrow is the first. I think one more win and a draw should be enough to pass,” said the Scot.
Photo: HINA/Dario Grzelj
