Good news before the rematch? Sparta’s executioner leaves Dinamo Zagreb for Lingre

Sparta Prague and the European Cup preliminary rounds? Not exactly a perfect combination, which was confirmed by Thursday’s performance at Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian champion is definitely not at ease, yet he coped with Sparta quite handily. But now it should be a little weaker.

After Copenhagen’s elimination from the Champions League, Sparta played Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday. Like the Prague team, it has dropped out of the millionaire’s competition and is not doing well in the league either.

The Croatian champion has thus changed its coach, plus it has to deal with some unpleasant departures. Already before the duel with Sparta, key players Josip Šutalo and Dominik Livaković, who was already on his way to Fenerbahce, left the team.

But even various troubles did not prevent Dinamo from playing Sparta. Zagreb won 3: 1, especially the intensity and approach to the game by both teams could not be compared at all. And Sparta’s defence? It earned a lot of criticism.

One of the best men on the field was Luka Ivanusec. He scored an assist on the 2:1 goal that turned the game around, then added a goal himself for 3:1.

However, Sparta can breathe a sigh of relief, as this talented winger will not play in the rematch. He has left for Feyenoord for more than 8 million euros, where he will meet former Slavia Prague player Ondrej Lingre.

Ivanusec was a key player for Dinamo, scoring 13 goals last season, to which he added 5 assists. This season he managed to rack up 5 goals and 2 assists over 7 games.

It will be interesting to see how Zagreb will fare without him in the rematch at Letná in Prague. Sparta will want to make up for their performance from the first game and Ivanušec will definitely be missed by the Croatian side.

Source: Feyenoord, Dinamo Zagreb, Transfermarkt