Gorica – Varaždin 1:3 (Matavž / Šego, Drožđek, Brodić)

Varaždin took control of the game after the 20th minute and deservedly won the match. Jeličić chose to play with a 4-3-3 formation, with Munsgaard as the right fullback, and Raspopović, Soldo, and Pršir in the midfield. Kapulica played as the left winger, Blummel on the right, and Vujnović played as the central striker.

Varaždin played in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Postonjski and Marina as the two pivot midfielders, and Pilj played as the number ten in front of them.

For the first twenty minutes, both teams had phases of ball possession, and it was a game of fighting for midfield domination. However, when Varaždin was in possession, Gorica would drop into a middle block in a 4-1-4-1 formation, and when Gorica was in possession, Varaždin would apply pressing. Varaždin’s midfield was more aggressive when defending, so they were able to dispose of Gorica’s players more effectively. On the other hand, they had an easier job when in possession because Gorica’s players weren’t as aggressive.

After 20 minutes, Varaždin’s midfield imposed complete domination, pushing Gorica’s players deeper into their own half. This made it very hard for Gorica to organise a counterattack because of Varaždin’s very compact and effective press, which was an improvement from earlier games. As a result, Varaždin hit the crossbar twice from corner kicks and had two excellent goalscoring chances, but Banić made good saves.

In the second half of the match, Jeličić changed the formation to 4231 and dropped Pršir as one of two pivot midfielders to increase creativity with the ball and gain more possession. As a result, Raspopović moved to the right fullback position, and Munsgaard was substituted for Iličić, who took on the attacking midfield position. Due to an injury, Šafarić had to replace Škaričić with Nekić.

Despite the changes, they did not significantly impact the game, and Varaždin continued to press and dominate possession. Eventually, Varaždin took the ball high up the pitch, and Postonjski passed to Šego, who scored against Banić.

To try and turn things around, Šafarić replaced Mitrovski for Brodić, who made an immediate impact on Varaždin’s game. This meant that Šego would move to the right winger position. After a few minutes, Varaždin scored from Drožđek’s penalty, and Brodić scored again from a quick transition.

After this, Varaždin dropped back onto their half, and Gorica started attacking, but the match was already decided. Jeličić tried with Matavž and Fall, and Matavž even scored 1-3, but it was not enough.

Šafarić made a few more changes, and Vukušić even entered the game, which is good news for Varaždin because they are now back from injury.

Overall, Varaždin won the match due to their midfield strength. Postonjski, Marina, and Pilj played aggressively and deservedly won the possession battles for Varaždin.