Dinamo Zagreb adapt to shut down Benfica’s key attacking threat

Just short of 30,000 people roared as Croatia’s biggest football club Dinamo Zagreb hosted Benfica at the Maksimir stadium. They erupted as their underdogs snatched a 1-0 victory over their guests in the first round of the Europa League’s knockout stages.

It was truly a night to remember for a number of things but the performance of Dinamo is definitely the highlight of the evening as the Croatian titans edged even closer to a long-awaited European success. For them, that is far from winning this coveted tournament; it is more about finally leaving a positive mark outside of their domestic league.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to determine how a well-organised Dinamo Zagreb team managed to take advantage of a somewhat inexperienced and rotational Benfica lineup to secure both a clean sheet and a crucial victory before the trip to Portugal.

Lineups

Dinamo Zagreb (4-1-4-1)

Starting XI: Livaković – Stojanović, Theophile-Catherine, Dilaver, Leovac – Šunjić  Gojak, Oršić, Olmo, Kadzior – Petković

Bench: Atienwen, Gavranović, Moro, Perić, Rrahmani, Šitum, Zagorac

Coach: Nenad Bjelica

Benfica (4-4-2)

Starting XI: Vlachodimos  Ferro, Dias, Grimaldo, Corchia  Gabriel, Luís, Krovinović, Fernandes  Seferović, Joao Félix

Bench: Samaris, Ribeiro, Svilar, Filipe, Cervi, Silva, Živković

Coach: Bruno Lage

Dinamo Zagreb setup

Nenad Bjelica did not have to think long nor hard in order to create what seemed to be the strongest possible starting XI Dinamo Zagreb could muster for this game. Two big names missing from his team sheet were Izet Hajrović and the team captain, Arijan Ademi, the former still serving his suspension and the latter suffering from an injury. Other than those two, the Blues had little to surprise us with.

Dominik Livaković was the man between the sticks with the captain’s armband, and in front of him stood the expected quartet of Petar Stojanović, Kevin Theophile-Catherine, Emir Dilaver and Marin Leovac. The middle of the park was where Bjelica was forced to shuffle the deck a bit.

Ivan Šunjić and Da