Dinamo Bucharest beat FCSB 2:1 at the Arcul de Triumf in the eighth round of Liga I on Friday evening. Martin Pascual scored twice to secure the three points for the hosts, while a late goal from David Miculescu could not salvage a result for the visitors. The match was decided in the first half when André Duarte was sent off and Dinamo took the lead through a penalty.
André Duarte came off in the thirty-first minute after a second yellow card, leaving FCSB with ten men for the remainder of the contest. Dinamo had already gone ahead in the thirtieth minute when Martin Pascual converted a spot-kick awarded after a VAR check. The visitors thought they had an equaliser when Valentin Crețu was given a penalty in the thirty-second minute, but that was cancelled with the help of VAR. To be fair, Dinamo's control after the dismissal was never in doubt.
We had called for a Dinamo victory before the match, and the way the game unfolded confirmed that call. Pascual added a second in the seventy-eighth minute to put the hosts firmly in control, and the visitors finally pulled one back through Miculescu in the eighty-fourth minute. Daniel Armstrong then missed a penalty in the eighty-eighth minute, a moment that could have extended Dinamo's advantage. And here's the thing – FCSB had no way back once Duarte was gone.
Dinamo dominated possession at 62 per cent and created four big chances compared to the visitors' one. They registered 14 shots on target against just two for FCSB, while shot accuracy sat at 61 per cent for the hosts versus 29 per cent for the away side. The visitors managed 12 saves from their goalkeeper but could not turn that into more than a consolation goal. By then, the result was already settled.
The victory takes Dinamo to the top of Liga I on 20 points from eight games. FCSB remain in sixth place with 11 points, now nine points behind the leaders. The hosts have won five and drawn twice in their opening eight matches, while the visitors have three wins, two draws and three defeats. That gap will only widen if the visitors cannot find consistency.
