Top match: Croatia’s premier stage for Zagreb and Rijeka
Croatian football is shaped by few fixtures with the stature of Top match, the meeting between Dinamo Zagreb and HNK Rijeka. It is a duel between the country’s leading domestic institutions, where league position, attacking identity and the possibility of extending a dominant head-to-head trend all converge. The recent numbers explain why the fixture carries such weight: across 40 competitive matches, Dinamo Zagreb have won 21, drawn 12 and beaten HNK Rijeka seven times, with the goals split 78-48.
That balance suggests a recurring pattern of Zagreb control without outright domination. Dinamo’s longest winning streak in the sample is seven matches, while their longest unbeaten run extends to 16; Rijeka’s corresponding figures are two wins and four games unbeaten. The margins are sharper at Dinamo’s home ground, where they have won 13 of 20 matches, drawn five and lost twice. Rijeka have been more resilient in their own stadium, winning five, drawing seven and losing eight of 20, making the location of the match central to the contest.
The standings add a tight layer to the rivalry. Second-placed Dinamo Zagreb have 19 points from nine matches, two ahead of fourth-placed HNK Rijeka on 17. Both have won three of their last five, although Dinamo’s run reads LWWLW and Rijeka’s WLWDW; Rijeka have also conceded seven goals to Dinamo’s nine while scoring 11 compared with 12. A result here can therefore influence the upper order and sharpen an already compressed contest.
Goals are often central to Top match. The 40 recent meetings produced an average of 3.2 goals, with both teams scoring in 55% and matches featuring at least three goals in 55%. The late stages have supplied many of them: 27 goals came between the 76th and 90th minutes, compared with 13 in the 61st-to-75th window. The sample also includes a 2-7 highest-scoring entry and a 4-0 Rijeka victory in 2025, underlining that recent history contains both controlled Zagreb superiority and emphatic Rijeka resistance.
History: Dinamo’s long advantage, shaped by dominance and resistance
A favorable recent balance
Across the 40 competitive meetings in the supplied recent-history sample, Dinamo Zagreb established the clearer statistical advantage: 21 wins against seven for HNK Rijeka, with 12 draws. The goal margin was equally pronounced, 78-48, producing an average of 3.2 goals per match. Dinamo’s longest unbeaten run reached 16 matches, compared with four for Rijeka, while its longest winning streak extended to seven. Rijeka’s own best winning sequence was two, so the broader pattern shows Dinamo not only winning more often but also doing so with greater continuity.
The venue split reinforces that imbalance. Dinamo won 13 of its 20 home matches in the sample, drawing five and losing only twice. Its home goals totalled 39, compared with 17 conceded. Rijeka’s home record was less secure at five wins, seven draws and eight defeats, although the 31 goals it scored indicate that it was rarely passive in front of its own supporters. In short, Dinamo enjoyed both the stronger home record and the greater scoring control, while Rijeka’s narrow defeats were more frequent than its victories.
From equilibrium to a Dinamo-dominant era
The season-by-season figures reveal distinct periods rather than one fixed hierarchy. From 2016 through 2018, the rivalry was closely balanced. Dinamo and Rijeka each won four matches, with four draws completing 12 encounters. The results included a number of close scorelines, including 1-1, 2-2 and 0-0, suggesting a period in which neither side could establish decisive control.
That balance shifted between 2019 and 2020. Dinamo collected five wins in the two seasons, compared with two for Rijeka, with one draw. The change became far more pronounced from 2021 through 2023: Dinamo won nine matches across those three seasons and Rijeka won none, with three draws. The four Dinamo victories in 2022 formed the core of this dominant phase, followed by another three-win sweep in 2023. The 2-7 contest on 13 November 2022 was the highest-scoring match in the dataset and the largest Dinamo victory, providing the sharpest indication of the gulf that developed during this period.
Rijeka’s resistance and the narrowing of the gap
Recent meetings show that the pattern became less one-sided. In the ten listed contests, Dinamo won five, Rijeka won one and four ended in draws. Dinamo’s 2-1 victory on 18 April 2026 was followed by a goalless stalemate, while earlier meetings in that run included 2-2, 0-0 and 1-1 results. Rijeka’s 4-0 win on 22 February 2025 was its largest victory in the sample and the clearest recent interruption to Dinamo’s dominance. That result was especially significant because it came immediately before a 1-0 Dinamo win and a 0-0 draw in the next two listed meetings.
The broader scoring lists also point toward Rijeka’s difficulty in matching Dinamo’s attacking output. M. Oršić, a current Dinamo player, leads the recorded scorers with 12 goals, ahead of former Dinamo forward E. Soudani on seven and B. Petković on six. Current Dinamo midfielder L. Ivanušec has four, while M. Gavranović and each of Rijeka’s leading scorers—M. Vešović, F. Andrijašević and A. Gorgon—have three. The distribution makes the central historical contrast clear: Dinamo possessed both a greater volume of victories and the leading individual scoring figures, whereas Rijeka’s most successful periods have been defined more by defensive resistance and the ability to puncture Dinamo’s advantage.
A matchup increasingly defined by late goals
Goal timing adds another layer to the derby’s recent character. The opening 15 minutes produced 17 goals, followed by 18 between minutes 16 and 30 and 24 in first-half stoppage time. The second half was similarly productive, with 23 goals between minutes 46 and 60 and a high of 27 after minute 75. Of the 122 total goals, 63 came after the interval, making the closing stages especially important even as the overall average of 3.2 goals reflects a relatively open contest.
Both teams also cleared the Over 2.5 mark in 55% of matches, while 55% featured goals from both sides. These are not records of every meeting in the rivalry, but they capture a recent pattern: Dinamo’s historical edge has been considerable, yet the narrowing win margin, increased share of draws and Rijeka’s capacity for decisive home results have made the Top match more closely contested than its aggregate record alone might suggest.
Iconic Moments
HNK Rijeka 2-7 Dinamo Zagreb
The 7-2 victory on 13 November 2022 stands as Dinamo Zagreb’s biggest win in the supplied recent history and the highest-scoring meeting listed. Nine goals separated two explosive attacking displays, with Dinamo producing the decisive surge after Rijeka had established an early two-goal advantage. The scoreline also illustrates the matchup’s capacity for rapid momentum swings: a tight contest can become a rout when one side converts its chances and sustains the pressure. For Dinamo, this was the benchmark victory; for Rijeka, it remains the sharpest recent reminder of how quickly control can disappear.
HNK Rijeka 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Rijeka’s 4-0 victory on 22 February 2025 provides the clearest counterpoint to Dinamo’s 2022 rout. It is the biggest home victory recorded in the supplied recent meetings and one of only two emphatic results alongside the 7-2 fixture. The clean sheet matters as much as the four-goal margin, suggesting a controlled and comprehensive home performance rather than a narrow success rescued by a late goal. Coming after Dinamo had won three of the preceding four listed meetings, the result broke that sequence and reinforced the central analytical point of this rivalry: recent form offers only a fragile guide when two closely matched sides meet.
Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 HNK Rijeka
The 1-0 result on 27 April 2025 continued Dinamo’s recent dominance and underlined a more pragmatic pattern away from the enormous margins recorded in 2022 and February 2025. Across the listed 2025 meetings, Dinamo won 2-0 in August, 1-0 in April and 2-1 in November, conceding only once in those three fixtures. This 1-0 therefore represented a compact version of Dinamo’s success: one goal was enough to secure the points, with the defence preserving the margin. After Rijeka’s recent four-goal statement, this response demonstrated that Dinamo could immediately regain control without needing another high-scoring spectacle.
Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 HNK Rijeka
The 2-1 victory on 1 November 2025 extended Dinamo’s run of victories over the two 2025 fixtures played in Zagreb. It was less conclusive than the 1-0 win in April, however, because both teams scored and the margin remained narrow. That detail reflects the broader recent pattern: Dinamo’s listed results against Rijeka have generally favoured the Zagreb side, but several have been decided by only one goal or overturned through a multi-goal contest. The November meeting was another example of Dinamo finding enough room to prevail while Rijeka remained capable of threatening the result.
Dinamo Zagreb 2-2 HNK Rijeka
The latest listed meeting, on 18 April 2026, ended in a 2-2 draw and offered another balanced chapter in this recent rivalry. Four goals, a point for each side and no clean sheet combined the elements seen across the previous highlights: productive attacking play, meaningful resistance and a final outcome harder to separate than the major victories in the record. Dinamo’s 2-1 win in November and Rijeka’s 4-0 triumph in February had both been decisive, but the 2-2 showed that neither advantage can be treated as permanent. In recent history, this matchup has moved between emphatic wins and tight draws, with the biggest occasions defined as much by their swings in momentum as by their final scores.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has won more derbies?
Dinamo Zagreb have won more of the 40 derbies in the supplied head-to-head record. Their 21 victories account for just over half of all meetings, compared with seven wins for HNK Rijeka, while 12 matches ended in draws. The numbers establish a clear advantage for Dinamo across recent history, although the sizeable draw total shows that Rijeka have regularly kept these contests closely balanced.
What is the biggest win in this head-to-head record?
The largest listed victory for Dinamo Zagreb is recorded as 2-7, while HNK Rijeka’s biggest win is 4-0. These are notable outliers within a record where the average of 3.2 goals per match already points toward a relatively productive rivalry. The headline margins sit alongside a high scoring frequency rather than forming the typical pattern of every derby.
How many goals are scored on average?
The 40 matches have produced 126 goals in total, with Dinamo Zagreb scoring 78 and HNK Rijeka adding 48. That is an average of 3.2 goals per match. Both teams have also scored in 55% of the fixtures, while 55% contained more than 2.5 goals. The identical percentages suggest that the rivalry’s attacking character often arrives together: open matches tend to benefit both scoring chances and elevated totals.
Who is the leading scorer?
M. Oršić is the leading scorer in the supplied derby data with 12 goals. His contribution is especially meaningful in a rivalry containing 126 goals across 40 matches. Rijeka’s total of 48 suggests he has been a significant source of their attacking output, while Dinamo’s 78 goals reflect the stronger overall winning record recorded over the last decade of competitive meetings.
Does home advantage shape the derby?
The available figures do not separate home and away results, so they cannot quantify a venue advantage directly. They do, however, show Dinamo holding the stronger overall record with 21 wins compared with Rijeka’s seven. Across the same 40-match sample, Dinamo have scored 30 more goals, reinforcing their statistical edge regardless of where the fixture is staged.
When is the next Dinamo Zagreb vs HNK Rijeka match?
The next listed Dinamo Zagreb vs HNK Rijeka fixture is scheduled for 27 October 2026, with the supplied matchup designated as Array vs Array. Given the rivalry’s recent pattern, attention will centre on whether Dinamo can extend their 21-win advantage or whether Rijeka can produce another attacking contest. The 3.2-goal average and 55% rate of matches above 2.5 goals provide the clearest statistical guide to what this matchup tends to produce.
