Kujtim Shala played for Dinamo for the first time, and it was immediately in the derby. On Friday he was discharged from military service, took a taxi from Belgrade to Zagreb, on Saturday he trained with the Blues' first team, and on Sunday he made his debut. He wore the number 10 shirt and probably felt the "additional magic" from it, becoming one of the heroes of the match, with the press jury naming him the best player of the encounter. What a start in the blue shirt... And all this in front of no less than 50,000 spectators. In such an atmosphere, Dinamo overcame Hajduk 2-0 and confirmed their pre-match promises to play open, attacking football...

This is how Maksimir coach Josip Kuže spoke before the match despite difficulties with team selection. Zvonimir Boban had a swollen ankle, while Davor Šuker was troubled by a knee injury from a knock he received in the previous match against Osijek. While Šuker still appeared in the starting lineup, Boban came on from the bench, which meant the number 10 shirt was "available" for this occasion, so the debutant Shala wore it.

Hajduk's strategist Luka Peruzović also couldn't field a complete squad. Nenad Gračan, Robert Jarni, and Darko Dražić were all missing... Midfielder Stipe Andrijašević suffered a traffic accident in Split the day before the match and the planned trip to Zagreb, while riding his motorcycle to Poljud stadium. After a four-hour operation, a lengthy recovery followed.

Dinamo took the lead in the 35th minute... At least that's what everyone in the stadium thought, including the main referee. Hajduk defender Damir Jurković attempted to bring down Šuker, who managed to launch the ball into the goal while falling. Maksimir celebrated, referee Rade Milutinović pointed to the center circle... However, after being surrounded by Hajduk players, the referee backed down, changed his decision and disallowed the goal. They convinced him that he had "blown his whistle for something" just before Šuker's shot. In that discussion, the referee himself turned to his assistant and asked "did I really whistle for something". He received a positive answer, so he disallowed the goal and awarded a free kick for Jurković's foul on Šuker outside the penalty area.

The match was decided in the final ten minutes. First, Hajduk striker Bernard Barnjak hit the post in the 80th minute, before a goal appeared in the Split net in the 82nd minute. Shala entered the penalty area on the right side, then with skillful dribbling sat his marker down on the grass and from six meters powerfully hammered the ball under the crossbar.

Just five minutes later, the Blues' second goal arrived. Mladen Mladenović intercepted the ball deep in his own half, launched an attack, beat three defenders, played through Šuker who crossed first-time from the left touchline into the penalty area. There Zvonimir Boban outjumped his marker and headed the ball down, then in the next touch lightning-fast fired home with his right foot's outside for 2-0.

With this victory, after seven rounds Dinamo was at the top of the table with 11 points, Rijeka was second with nine, while Crvena zvezda, Budućnost, Željezničar and Radnički Niš had collected eight points each...