February 21, 2019 – The Europa League fairytale continues for Dinamo Zagreb as they move into the round of 16.
Dinamo Zagreb and Viktoria Plzen met at Maksimir stadium for the return match of the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday. Recall, Dinamo lost to Plzen 1:0 in the first leg.
In front of a nearly sold out and screaming crowd in Zagreb (25,680 spectators to be exact), Dinamo showed that they deserved their place in the Europa League competition, and came back to win 3:0 against Plzen to advance to the round of 16.
It was another fantastic performance by the Zagreb club. Mislav Oršić put Dinamo in the lead in the 15th minute thanks to a brilliant play by Bruno Petković – and Emir Dilaver increased the lead to 2:0 in the 34th minute. Just before halftime, the Romanian referee sent Dinamo coach Nenad Bjelica to the stands, though it failed to disturb the team’s momentum.
Viktoria’s chances did not get any better in the second half, and it was Bruno Petković to secure Dinamo’s victory with a goal in the 73rd minute. With an aggregate of 4:2, Dinamo now continues its European path.
The Europa League round of 16 draw will be held on Friday, February 22 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The draw will take place precisely at 13:00.
The first match of the next round will be played on March 7, with the return match seven days later.
Recall, the last time Dinamo played a European spring was in the 1969/70 season where they advanced to the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup and lost to Schalke.
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