Hajduk Split saw off Slaven Belupo 1-0 in the Croatian First League on Saturday evening. The win keeps the Split side top of the table after seven rounds, while Slaven remain rooted to eighth place. It was a match where possession told the story from the start.
And here's the thing — you remember minute twenty precisely. Karlo Isasegi picked up a yellow card for Slaven, and by then you could feel how the tempo was being set. Hajduk didn't travel to make up the numbers; they carried the side with 68 per cent possession and decided to let the game flow their way.
The breakthrough came two minutes later through Dalisson De Almeida Leite. He found the net in the 22nd minute, and though he would later receive a yellow card himself, that moment shifted everything. Hajduk had created two big chances and only needed one, which is often how these games are decided.
Things tightened after the interval. Slaven brought on Leon Bošnjak and Karlo Isasegi in quick succession at the break, but Filip Mazar's red card in the 79th minute changed the complexion entirely. Hajduk responded with Michele Šego and Ilija Nestorovski, looking to see out the result. They felt the pressure but held on grimly.
The statistics paint a straightforward picture. Hajduk registered 610 passes compared to Slaven's 282, with shots on target sitting at 1-2. The visitors were second to everything in midfield, making 20 tackles to Hajduk's 14, but couldn't convert their two shots on target into anything meaningful.
The result extends Hajduk's lead at the summit to 22 points, five clear of whoever sits below them. Slaven's tally of six points after seven games suggests a difficult season ahead, especially with five defeats already on their record.