Amid the final pushes for illustrious silverware in Europe’s top leagues, a number of Vatreni stars have their eyes on League and Cup glory.
Joško Gvardiol and Mateo Kovačić helped claw Manchester City to the FA Cup Final, Nikolo Moro’s Bologna continue to defy odds as they await AC Milan in the Coppa Italia Final and Josip Stanišić’s Bayern Munich are just one step away from the Bundesliga title.
Meanwhile, the young Aussie-Croats continue to help their sides in the hunt for a place in the A-League Finals Series.
In Croatia, the HNL title race has taken yet another turn with just a single point separating the league’s top three sides.
Vjesnik’s Jake Holub wraps up the week in national and international football, through a Croatian lens, covering Aussie-Croats, Croats in Europe and the HNL.
A-League: Young Cro’s lock in Finals Spots
With just a single game remaining in the A-League Men’s regular season, the dramatic push for a place in the Finals Series continues into the final round of action.
Playing the full 90 minutes and nominated as Player of the Match, Nicolas Milanović‘s Western Sydney Wanderers secured an important win over the Newcastle Jets to guarantee their attendance for the Finals.
Heavily rumoured to be joining Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen in the off-season, Milanović’s hot form this season will certainly put him into Socceroos contention for the crucial upcoming World Cup qualification period.
Noah Botić‘s Western United took a crucial step in securing a home final fixture, defeating Adrian Segečić‘s Sydney FC 1-0 at Ironbark Fields.
Needing at least one point in their final game against Melbourne City to rejoin the top six, Segečić will have the golden opportunity to outright win the Golden Boot in a crucial game for his side at AAMI Park.
Meanwhile, Marin Jakoliš has all but confirmed his spot as the league’s top assister this season, recording his 12th in Macarthur’s 1-2 loss to Melbourne Victory.
On the other end of the table, Ruben Zadkovich‘s Brisbane Roar confirmed they will not finish bottom of the league by defeating Wellington Phoenix 1-0.
Defeated by the Premiers 1-0, David Zdrilić‘s Perth Glory’s defeat at the hands of Auckland FC meant that the Glory will retain the A-League’s wooden spoon for a second consecutive season.
Europe: Multiple stars featuring in Domestic Cup Finals
As leagues across Europe begin to wind down, the fight for the Domestic Cups has intensified in the biggest footballing countries.
While Luka Modrić‘s Real Madrid fell short to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Final, a few other Vatreni stars have the opportunity to lift silverware with their clubs.
First in England, a goal from Joško Gvardiol and an assist from Mateo Kovačić helped Manchester City claim a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Semifinals.
Both Croats started and have consistently played key roles for Pep Guardiola’s side, who will prepare to face Crystal Palace in the Final on May 18.
While the success of City’s duo isn’t awfully surprising, midfielder Nikola Moro‘s Bologna have continued their excellent season by booking their spot in the Coppa Italia Final.
Moro played the full 90 and provided an assist in Bologna’s 2-1 win over Empoli in the semifinals, now geared to take on Italian giants AC Milan on the big stage on May 15.
While out of the DFB Pokal, Josip Stanišić played yet another 90 minutes in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Mainz 05.
With just three games remaining in the league, Bayern need just one point in their hunt to reclaim the Bundesliga title.
In Spain, Ante Budimir‘s Osasuna secured a crucial 1-0 win over Sevilla, jumping up to 8th on the league table and taking them into serious contention for a European place.
While Budimir was unable to add another goal to his whopping 21-goal tally this season that has seen him become Osasuna’s all-time top scorer in La Liga, the 33-year-old has reportedly attracted interest from various big clubs across Europe who are searching for a bagsman.
From one experienced Croat to another, Ivan Perišić‘s performance in PSV’s 3-1 win over FC Twente caught the eyes of many.
Scoring a goal and providing an assist while playing out the full 90 minutes, the 36-year-old’s performances this season has helped PSV look set to confirm an automatic Champions League spot for next season.
Here are some other performances from Croats in Europe worth noting:
- Young defender Mauro Perković started his second straight game for Cracovia in Poland, scoring in their 1-0 win over Motor Lubin.
- Dominik Kotarski starred in net for PAOK’s 2-1 win against Panathinaikos, while Tin Jedvaj scored the only goal for the opposition.
- Lovro Majer has returned from injury to make two consecutive substitute appearances for Wolfsburg
HNL: Title drama continues as big three drop points
While mid-week fixtures beginning for the HNL sides were certainly likely to throw a spanner in the works for the title race as teams deal with quick turnarounds, the extent of surprising results has certainly shocked many.
While last week’s Round 30 saw some notable results arise with Hajduk Split and Rijeka dropping points, Round 31 was truly ridiculous.
It began with Dinamo Zagreb experiencing defeat away to eighth-placed Gorica, who held out for a 1-0 win.
Istra 1961 then continued their giant-slaying after defeating Dinamo and Rijeka recently, taking out Hajduk 1-0 away from home thanks to Vinko Rozić’s first-half goal.
It went from shocking to mind-blowing when Rijeka hosted Osijek to finish off the round, with goals from Nail Omerović and 21-year-old Marko Soldo securing a stunning 2-0 win for the visitors.
However, Osijek were not done yet as they prepared to take on Hajduk just four days later.
Both teams played out a tight match, but two late goals saw Osijek secure yet another 2-0 win.
Shortly after, the big game between Dinamo and Rijeka had kicked off in Zagreb – first place taking on third.
Holding more possession and creating far more chances, Dinamo took all three points thanks to a smart finish from Marko Pjaca in the 13th minute.
As such, Dinamo now trail both Rijeka and Hajduk by one point with four games remaining, an unbelievable outcome considering Dinamo were eight points behind the league leaders just a few weeks ago.
Hosting Dinamo in what will be the game of the round, Hajduk will be under pressure to ensure they do not allow their eternal rivals to leapfrog them in the title race.