France vs. Serbia: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Friendly
France beat Serbia 2-1 in an entertaining international friendly on Monday, with all the goals coming in the first half.
Blaise Matuidi struck twice to give Les Bleus a two-goal lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic restored some hope for the visitors just before half-time. A host of substitutions meant the pace of the match dropped after the break, although France still had several chances to increase their lead.
It was another strong showing from Les Bleus, who are starting to look like possible favourites ahead of Euro 2016.
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Eliaquim Mangala and Raphael Varane started over Laurent Koscielny in the heart of France's defence, while new Manchester United striker Anthony Martial and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema started on the bench in favour of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann.
Bacary Sagna was actively involved early, making plenty of surging runs up the pitch and trying his luck with a number of crosses. Griezmann and Giroud also combined well, with the Atletico man immediately testing Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
The referee gave Varane and Mitrovic an early warning for being a little too physical inside the box, but the majority of play took place out wide, with both teams showing plenty of attacking intentions. As a result, fans didn't have to wait long for the first goal.
Sagna again found space down the wing and fired in a superb cross, which was met by Matuidi, who produced a strong header that left Rajkovic rooted to the spot.
As shared by WhoScored.com, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has been in sensational form of late:
Les Bleus continued to push forward, and Mathieu Valbuena came close to doubling their lead, blasting a shot over the bar. Giroud really should have scored after great work from Benoit Tremoulinas, but Rajkovic pulled off a stunning save to deny the Arsenal man from close range.
Hugo Lloris was called into action when Mitrovic cleverly let a cross roll to Lazar Markovic, but all in all, the France defence easily held its own. On the other side of the pitch, Giroud ruined another great chance after a delightful backheel from Griezmann. BeIN Sports' Matt Spiro was not impressed:
France were dominating in midfield at this point, and after 25 minutes, Les Bleus doubled their advantage. Once again it was Matuidi who found the back of the net, blasting a fantastic shot past Rajkovic after the Serbs failed to clear a corner.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson was at a loss for words:
"Genuinely running out of superlative praise for Blaise Matuidi. Wow! #FRASER #PSG
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) September 7, 2015"
Leading by two, France were happy to take their foot of the gas a little bit, although Tremoulinas and Valbuena continued to make dangerous runs down the flank. Serbia hardly looked threatening, and with half-time fast approaching, some fans already started to leave their seats in search of refreshments.
That would prove to be a mistake, as the visitors pulled one back out of nowhere. A Dusan Tadic cross fell to Markovic, whose volley took an odd deflection off Mitrovic's knee and ended up in the back of the net.
The Daily Mail's Craig Hope described the goal like this:
The goal seemed to wake the French side up, and once again, they pushed forward. Giroud did well to twice connect with difficult crosses, but both times, his effort missed the target.
Les Bleus started the second half without Sagna and Matuidi, arguably their two best players in the first half, and it was clear manager Didier Deschamps wasn't going to treat this match like more than a friendly.
Neither side really went looking for a goal, although Griezmann came close after 52 minutes, directing his first shot onto the post and firing the rebound over the goal. This was the signal for another round of French dominance, but while they enjoyed most of the ball, chances were few.
Meanwhile, the stadium had turned against Giroud, jeering the Arsenal forward every time he touched the ball. Per Spiro, the France fans aren't exactly known to support a guy when he's down:
Mercifully, Deschamps replaced him with Benzema after 62 minutes.
France continued to dominate possession, and there was little Serbia could bring against them. Zoran Tosic had a solid look on goal after 64 minutes, but fortunately for Les Bleus, his shot slid across the face of the goal.
Martial replaced Valbuena after 76 minutes, earning his second cap for France. But by this point, the pace of the match had dropped considerably, with both teams seemingly waiting for the final whistle. Tosic had one more shot on goal, but the ball took a deflection and never bothered Lloris.
These friendlies teach us very little about the France squad—other than that the hosts of next year's Euro tournament have a ridiculously talented young group of players.
Paul Pogba and Matuidi form one of the most powerful central midfield pairings in the world, and with Valbuena and Griezmann using their speed to tear defences to pieces, there's always bound to be major chances for the attackers.
Giroud's inconsistent form remains a worry, although a fit Benzema will always start for Les Bleus in important matches. And with youngsters such as Alexandre Lacazette and Martial also waiting for their chance, the future of the France national team looks as bright as ever.
Post-Match Reaction
As shared by Get French Football News, Koscielny was adamant the reason he didn't play in the match had nothing to do with injury:
