Dinamo players secured a victory in the fourth round of the Europa League, defeating English Premier League side Sunderland 2-0 (2-0) away. The match was played at the Stadium of Light, with Andrea Colombo from Italy officiating. The win was recorded on the debut of interim manager Jerko Leko, who took over the team following the dismissal of Mario Kovačević.
Luka Stojković scored the opening goal for Dinamo in the 22nd minute with an excellent strike from 14 metres, following a corner kick. Dion Drena Beljo doubled the Croatian champions' lead in the 39th minute, capitalising on a superb assist from Stojković. With this, Beljo scored his sixth goal in European competition this season and his 20th overall in all competitions. Home goalkeeper Roefs could only watch as the ball went into the net.
Sunderland scored in the 47th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside, a decision confirmed in the VAR room. The home manager had already made four substitutions at half-time, and in the second half, the visitors hit the woodwork and threatened seriously on several occasions. Dominik Kotarski saved a header from Ahouya in the 11th minute, and Dinamo's defence kept a clean sheet for the third time in four rounds.
Leko abandoned the (4-3-3) formation insisted upon by his predecessor Mario Kovačević. In a more compact midfield, Luka Stojković had the most freedom, while Niko Galešić and Sergi Dominguez occupied the centre-back positions. Moris Valinčić and Mateo Lisica again took up the right flank, while Bruno Goda and Mislav Oršić operated on the left. Home side Sunderland, fielding a combined team, were managed by Régis Le Bris.
Dinamo redeemed themselves for the home defeat against NEC in the previous round, moving up to ninth place with seven points and joining a group of five teams level on points. Sunderland are in that group after their first defeat in this season's Europa League. Benfica, Bournemouth and Ferencváros lead the table with a maximum of 12 points.
The Croatian champions will play their next Europa League match on 26 November at 18:45, when they host Bayer Leverkusen at Maksimir. The scorers were Luka Stojković in the 22nd minute and Dion Drena Beljo in the 39th minute, while yellow cards were shown to Xhaka, Danso and Hume on one side, and Galešić and Kačavenda on the other.
