Craiova beat Zalău 3:1 in a club friendly on Thursday evening. The match took place on October ninth, 2026, and finished with a comfortable margin for the home side. To be fair, this was not a surprise result given what happened less than a week earlier.
The two sides met for a second time in seven days. On October second, Craiova won 3:0 in that previous encounter. By then, Zalău had already shown they could score — they beat Știința Băi-Mare 3:0 on the third. But Thursday's version was different in the way things went.
Craiova came into this game having won their last two friendlies. They took 3:0 against Zalău on the second, and before that 3:0 over Știința Băi-Mare on the first. The 0:3 losses to Unirea Dăești on the third had clearly been a moment of reflection. And here's the thing about friendly matches — results matter less than shape.
Zalău had been in decent form before this. They won 3:2 against Unirea Dăești on the first, and 3:1 over Știința Băi-Mare on the twenty-seventh. But they also lost 0:3 to Unirea Dăești on the twenty-fifth, and 0:3 to Craiova on the second. Three clean sheets against them in five games tells you something about how they defend.
The final score sits at 3:1, which gives Craiova a clean run through their recent friendlies. Zalău's three losses in five games — two of them by three goals — means they have work to do before any competitive fixtures. The friendly season continues, and both sides still have matches to play.
