Oršić goal earns Dinamo Zagreb surprising win over Chelsea

ZAGREB, Croatia: Mislav Oršić must wish he could play English teams every week. The Croatia forward ran from the halfway line and produced a deft finish in the 13th minute to lead Dinamo Zagreb to a surprising 1-0 win over Chelsea in their opening Group E match in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Add that goal to the winner Oršić scored against West Ham in the Europa League last season and the hat trick he got to eliminate Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham in the Europa League in the 2020-21 season. It marked a memorable start by Dinamo to their first group-stage campaign in Europe’s top competition since 2019-20, having got to this point by coming through three qualifying rounds.

As for Chelsea, it was the latest disappointing result in an unconvincing start to the season for a club that spent nearly $300 million on refreshing their squad in the summer transfer window. The two-time European champions dominated the match in the Croatian capital but were let down by poor finishing, which dovetailed with scrambling defense and some great saves by Dominik Livaković for the hosts.

In the second half, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — making his debut for Chelsea after a deadline-day move from Barcelona and wearing a mask to protect his injured cheek — had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside against Ben Chilwell in the build-up. Then, in a frantic finish, Reece James smashed a shot against the post before Livaković made a stunning double stop to deny Mason Mount then Hakim Ziyech.