SERGEJ MILINKOVIC-SAVIC
3/4 years ago, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (SMS) was a hot prospect in European football that was being linked to all the big clubs in the world, most notably Manchester United. Coming off the back of an impressive season with Lazio, teams were circling but no one was tempted enough to buy him given the high price tag. There was a false narrative that he dropped off the following season but he was required to play a little deeper and so the attacking numbers suffered a little because of that (and even then it was marginal).
However, in recent seasons he has been back to his attacking best with 11 goals and 11 assists last year, one of a few players to achieve that milestone in a Top 5 League. His best position is at Mezzala, or number 8, where he can affect all facets of the game so to discuss him tactically, we will break down his role in all 3 areas of the pitch.
defensive 1/3rd
Now, the majority of the defensive work is carried out by the ex Liverpool icon that is Lucas Leiva. He's had a great tenure in Italy, being a defensive shield in front of the defence and then you've also got Luis Alberto. With so much defensive protection, SMS hasn't had to defend a whole lot under Sarri. Defensively, he has two main roles in the team:
To ensure he tracks back and allows the team to retain their defensive shape, and when doing so, look to tackle or intercept the ball from the player's blindside. This is most definitely what he is best at defensively, looking to be a nuisance and nick the ball back when running back to goal.
Once in the defensive shape, he can often have the freedom to go and press the attacker and use his large frame and legs to win the ball back and start the attack.
When looking at the stats, he isn't great defensively and stats are hard to get across how good or bad a midfielder is. He is serviceable and works hard enough for the team but he almost suffers from Pogba syndrome. He may need a defensive full back to help cover him in a double pivot or 2 midfielders to pick up the slack. Now whilst he most definitely works harder than Pogba in his defensive duties, the system has to be right and balanced to get the best out of him. To play in a double pivot, as long as the defensive partner does the bulk of the work and he has a defensive full back on his side then he will be fine. but if the wrong team pick him up, then you may see him struggle to adapt and played in various positions whilst the club try to 'unlock' him. For Lazio, his value comes in his ability to be press resistant and start attacks from deep.
middle of the park
When Lazio, or even SMS himself, have won the ball back in their defensive third, SMS has the ability to kick start the attack through a number of different ways and the stats show he's great at all of them:
Route 1. Just a long ball into space for Immobile or Anderson to run onto, his long passing is very good and accurate
Quick interchanges with the full back or midfield partners of Leiva or Alberto to get each other into space.
Use that agility and lightness of feet to turn his marker and drive up the field and carry the ball, something he does the most in this Lazio team.
Whenever SMS receives the ball, there is an absolute calmness in holding the ball up and waiting for others to make themselves available for Lazio to begin their attack. He never looks troubled or worried when in this position because he has the agility and lightness of foot of a Sergi Busquets, where he can use that agility and close control to get out of trouble. Now, there is a stat that SMS has lost the most balls in his own half in the whole of Serie A. There's not much defending that other than, he's not shy in showing for the ball and can be quite aggressive in the build up play, but he needs to release the ball slightly quicker and be safer with it at times. In leagues where teams counter press or look to attack on the front front, that lackadaisical style of play could be dangerous.
acronym ballers
Now we mentioned that he can turn and dribble or pass and get into space, there's one space he likes to get into more so than any other, the KDB zone. This little section to the right hand side of the pitch just outside the box, in that vertical half space. The attacking wingback definitely helps create extra space and time for him here, without that, he may not be as effective but the whipped balls from this area are so dangerous (yellow lines), think KDB and TAA (and with SMS, I'm starting to think it's an acronym thing so I've got a second reason to name my first born James St Patrick). His delivery is delicious, but it only works if you have strikers with great off the ball movement to attack the space behind, like Immobile. From this area, SMS got the vast majority of his assists.
The second part to this section is that it's not limited to this area, whilst this may be the preferred area, he's more than happy to be wider and use his skill to get down the byline (red lines) or even pick up the ball on the left and cross from that area (given he can use both feet). And it's not just crosses, it's beautifully weighted through balls too. Overall, he's great at passing and creating chances from all over the pitch. I mean, here are the accolades in Serie A.
We've done quite a few tactical breakdowns and we could stop his analysis here and call him a respectable player that will do well in the right system blah blah blah. But he got 11 goals and 11 assists, and where his goal scoring comes alive is with his ability to act as a wrecking ball going forward.
wrecking ball
Most CAMs are creative passers, SMS is more of a wrecking ball when he ventures forward as he uses that monstrous frame to become an aerial threat. His playing making is done from deeper, his goal scoring is in and around the 5 yard box and from set pieces. That's not to say he doesn't have some very slick, quick one touch passing in the box (he's great at being instinctive in the box) but the headed finishes are special, making him top 5 in La Liga for headed goals.
And then there's the pressing. SMS won the most tackles in the opposition half in Serie A, that's pretty good going and shows the intensity and tenacity in his game from the front foot. He sits in the 80th percentile for pressures in the attacking third with 4 per game and a respectable 0.33 tackles in the attacking third per game, sitting him in the 70th percentile. Like we said, he is willing to work hard for the team.
SMS is the best player at Lazio (we know how many goals Immobile scored) and at 27 with no Champions League football, he may finally be ready to make the switch with clubs circling again. But, as mentioned earlier, whilst his ability to help in the build play and create/score is tremendous, he needs the right defensive pieces around him to ensure the team doesn't become too defensively week. A spot in the Arsenal team in front of Tomiyasu and next to a defensive midfielder almost seems too good to be true.