Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been regularly linked with a move away from Lazio in the recent past, and with the transfer window on the horizon, the Serbian international is again generating a lot of media coverage, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United reportedly keen on the in-demand midfielder.
At 25 years old, Sergej is approaching his prime, and he has proven himself to be one of the best midfielders in Serie A since joining Lazio from KRC Genk in 2015/16, when the club acquired his services for a £16.2 million fee.
During his five seasons with the Biancocelesti, the towering Serbian, standing over six feet two inches tall, has been an ever-present figure in Lazio’s three-man midfield, totaling 150 league appearances and contributing 26 goals and 18 assists.
This season, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has played a total of 2,052 minutes of football in Serie A for Lazio, adding four goals and five assists as Lazio challenges Juventus for the Scudetto.
In this scout report, we examine the important role Sergej plays for Lazio, analyzing the Serbian’s contributions across the defensive, midfield, and attacking thirds of the pitch through a tactical analysis.
Sergej Milinković-Savić Style Of Play
This season, Lazio has generally favoured a 3-5-2 formation under Inzaghi, as the Italian has utilised this tactic in 90% of matches in Serie A, in which Milinkovic-Savic has operated in the role of a box-to-box midfielder.
Looking at the Serbian’s heat map, you can see immediately how Sergej has an impact for Lazio across all thirds of the pitch, showing his effectiveness operating in the role of the box-to-box midfielder.
His height also makes him an effective target-man in the attacking third, as he can often be found progressing further up the pitch into the opposition’s penalty box, providing Lazio with an additional aerial threat on attack.
This versatility is a bonus, making Sergej a crucial piece of
The above data visualisation highlights Sergej’s importance to Lazio; the player has an expected contribution (goals and assists) of
Sergej The Target Man
Despite being deployed as a box-to-box midfielder, a player in the midfield position who is effective both at the attacking third and the defensive third of the pitch, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic offers Inzaghi an aerial threat in the attacking third and can often be found in advanced positions.
Inzaghi’s tactics in relation to allowing Sergej the freedom to act as a target man has paid dividends across the 2019/20 season.
To display how unique Sergej is as a midfielder, we have conducted a data analysis against a sample of all central midfielders in Serie A who have played more than 900 minutes for their team in 2019/20.
The analysis covers three key metrics: passes to the opposition’s penalty area, touches in the box, and Aerial duels per 90 minutes.
Carrying out an analysis on the above data visualisation, you will see that the Serbian is performing above average with 3.76 passes into the penalty area per 90.
This credits his ability to progress the ball into areas with a high expected goal (xG) value, highlighting his creative side and threat to the opposition when in possession in attack.
Sergej is also in the top three midfielders in relation to the number of touches he takes per 90 (2.55 per 90) in the opposition’s penalty area.
This figure credits his ability to advance deep into the attacking third as a key factor in influencing the game.
Finally, Milinkovic-Savic also is averaging 7.15 aerial duels per 90, this output is what makes the midfielder so unique, with the majority of the players performing above average in relation to the other two metrics scoring low on this metric, the one exception being Juraj Kucka of Parma.
Examples of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic demonstrating his aerial qualities can be seen below, firstly against Inter.
In the above image, Inter are set up in a compact block and are looking to force Lazio to play from the outside of the pitch as they have left Jony open in the wide vertical channel.
Noticing that Inter are looking to defend their right side, Milinkovic-Savic makes a run behind
The timing of the Serbian’s run and the brilliance of Alberto’s ball causes mass confusion in the Inter penalty area.
A backpedalling Skriniar collides with goalkeeper Daniele Padelli, allowing Sergej to compete for the second ball, winning the aerial battle against Diego Godin.
Inter’s Stefan de Vrij then fouls Ciro Immobile, giving away a penalty, and it becomes clear that the brilliance of Milinkovic-Savic causes all three mistakes on Inter’s part.
Below, against Cagliari, is another example of Milinkovic-Savic making himself an option in the opposition’s penalty area.
Cagliari are set up in a compact block (4-2-3-1) with Nahitan Nández and Artur Ionita operating as the double pivots, shuttling the space between the defensive lines to make it hard for Lazio to attack through the middle of the pitch.
Milinkovic-Savic’s awareness of running into the Cagliari box behind Ionita, who is focusing on the movement of
Milinkovic-Savic can progress into the box at the back post completely unmarked, due to Joao Pedro’s lack of desire to track the Serbian.
This allows Senad Lulic the option to deliver a high cross towards the towering Serbian at the back post, this attacking rotation can often be seen watching Lazio, who will often attempt to get players close to Milinkovic-Savic to attack the second ball.
The Creator
Milinkovic-Savic is a powerhouse of stamina; he can constantly create chances for Lazio’s more attack-minded players (Luis Alberto, Ciro Immobile, and Joaquin Correa).
Being able to progress the ball further up the pitch is another role of the Serbian under Inzaghi’s tactics, who demands that Sergej has an impact on the attacking/transitional phase of the game.
Firstly, an analysis of Sergej’s passing in key areas leads us to the conclusion that the Serbian is an effective passer of the ball.
The midfielder has a diverse passing range, which is reflected in the above radars, showing that Sergej is more efficient when passing the ball from the half-space rather than from out wide.
The Serbian can often be found taking possession in the half-space, where he has a pocket of space in which to use the ball, often playing the ball beyond the defensive line.
Further analysis of the Serbian’s ball progressions over the past year shows that he favours progressing the ball with a pass rather than opting to dribble.
This tendency is undoubtedly of benefit to Lazio, as centre forwards Ciro Immobile and Joaquin Correa are both not short of speed, making the progressive pass the quickest way to move the ball to them.
Impressively, Sergej has completed 100% of passes over 40 metres over the past year.
In fact, he has a pass accuracy of over
An example of Sergej’s ability to play a long pass can be seen here against SPAL.
The midfielder is on the ball in transition and has multiple options available to him.
SPAL are retreating as they look to assemble their defensive shape, this means he could have dribbled the ball up the pitch, he also had the option of progressing the ball to his right and the run of Manuel Lazzari.
However, the confidence in his own ability to play a successful long pass meant his option was to deliver a pinpoint pass 30 metres into the space behind the defence for Ciro Immobile.
As we move the play further along, Milinkovic-Savic can be seen making a late run into the vacant space created by Bobby Adekanye’s movement.
It is a testament to the midfielder’s iron will and desire to make an impact in the attacking third.
In the image below, we can see another example of Sergej’s ability to progress the ball.
Again, against SPAL, the Serbian can be seen in a large pocket of space, demanding the ball.
The midfielder constantly scans the pitch, looking over his shoulder two or three times between the moment the pass leaves Lucas Leiva’s feet and him controlling the ball.
This awareness highlights the player’s ability to process information, aiding his decision-making.
The scanning of play enabled Milinkovic-Savic to decide he had enough time on the ball, due to the lack of SPAL’s press.
This enabled the Serbian to turn on the ball, attack the defensive block, and then progress the ball out wide into space for the electric
The Extra Defender
Box-to-box players can also be viewed as an extra layer of defensive coverage for the team.
Before the defence can be tested, the opposition has to progress past the box-to-box player.
Sergej under Inzaghi has two different roles in the defensive phase.
When the ball is played down Lazio’s right-hand side, Sergej’s role is to press the opposition and close off passing lanes through the middle of the pitch.
When the opposition attacks down Lazio’s left-hand side (above), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic can often be found dropping into his penalty area, and it is from this position that he acts as an additional central defender.
An example of this can be seen in the above image against Roma, where Sergej can be seen man-marking Edin Dzeko.
This tactic allows Francesco Acerbi and Luiz Felipe to adopt zonal marking, giving them the freedom to attack the ball when it is delivered by the opposition.
The Serbian can also often be found breaking up play by putting pressure on the opposition, often using the second ball as a trigger for pressing.
In the above image, late in the game against Inter, there are 10 players crowded in the Lazio area.
Milinkovic-Savic, using his ability in the air to win an aerial duel, forces the ball out of play to secure the victory.
It’s small details like this that win teams points, as Milinkovic-Savic took control of the situation, not allowing Inter the opportunity to play one final ball into the box.
Conclusion
Milinkovic-Savic has been setting Serie A on fire over the last five years, consistently showing that he is worthy of his reported lofty price tag every season.
Ever since he arrived in Italy, the Serbian has made at least 25 league appearances in each season.
Sergej is a creative passer and is confident with the ball at his feet.
Whether he is threading through balls through to the likes of Immobile or Correa, or directing his teammates like a true midfield general, it is clear to see why Europe’s elite are targeting the unique midfielder.
The relationship between Milinkovic-Savic and his current side, Lazio, is a strong bond, and there is no doubting that Simone Inzaghi is building a very special team in Rome, with Sergej being integral to the Italian’s vision.
One thing is certain, regardless of where Sergej will play his football, the midfielder is approaching his prime and will no doubt continue to dominate the field between the boxes for the foreseeable future.
