THE GOOD
Dusan ****in Tadic
Dusan Tadic had maybe his best game in a Serbua shirt today. He scored a goal, added two assists and provided at least three more great passes that his teammates should have finished. He was the best player on the pitch by a mile and his creativity in Muslin's system has given new life to Serbia's once impotent attack. Serbia can score against anyone when Tadic is playing like this.
Kostic-Katai-Tadic
Andrija Pavlovic was subbed off at halftime and replaced by winger Aleksandar Katai who came in and played as a false 9. Katai and Tadic often switched positions and combined with Kostic to create all sorts of problems for the Moldovan's. The skill, creativity and dynamism of this front three was very easy to see and adds a dangerous element to the side. Unfortunately Katai missed two great chances but it was clear that Tadic and Kostic combine a lot better with him than with traditional strikers like Mitrovic and Pavlovic.
Three points and a clean sheet ?!?!?
If you've been following Serbia for the last six years you know how difficult it has been for us to get three points and keep the ball out of the net against anyone. Serbia has a knack for dropping points to small sides like Moldova and these away trips usually turn into nightmares. We also have a talent for giving up very stupid goals. That was not the case today as we put in a very professional performance that allows the players to sleep easy until Austria on Sunday.
Confidence
This group of players has experienced a lot of failure and faced so much criticism for their poor performances. Mentally they've taken a pounding so a easy victory like this will definitely give them some confidence and bring back their belief in themselves. Obviously we shouldn't get too excited about a win over a side that we are classes above but this is something positive and positivity is rare when it comes to the Serbian national team in recent years.
THE BAD
The backline
Serbia might not have conceded against Moldova but the centre back trio of Ivanovic, Nastasic and Vukovic was not as convincing as we wanted them to be against a side of Moldova's quality. Moldova created a couple good chances and got into quite a few dangerous positions. Our defenders just didn't do a good enough job of shutting them down and that will definitely need to improve against a much better Austrian side on Sunday. There's still more work to do but hopefully it gets better as they get more comfortable with each other and the new system.
Slow starts
Just like in the match vs Ireland last month, Serbia struggled out of the gate today and was outplayed in the first 15 minutes of the match. The players seem so tense and nervous at the start of games and this added stress that they put on themselves affects their play and is often costly. Early goals are huge and we can't afford to concede them. Hopefully this win will make the players relax a little bit and come into the next match more prepared and with cooler heads.
Set pieces
This is something that I was really paying close attention to after the struggles we had against Ireland's set pieces. Today was not much better and a side with more quality would have probably punished us. Moldova almost scored from their first corner and on their next two corners our defenders cleared the ball to the top of the box where a Moldovan was alone waiting for it. Fortunately their shots missed badly in both of those situations but Muslin really needs to secure this part of our game for the rest of the qualifiers.
Central midfield, again
Muslin decided to start Luka Milivojevic and Nemanja Gudelj in central midfield again after their uninspiring performances vs Ireland. Today was much of the same. The duo was unable to control the middle and Moldova crossed into Serbia's half without much trouble for a good portion of the match. Their passing was also poor and they just don't mix well with Serbia's wingers. I'm not sure who Muslin will go with on Sunday but Nemanja Matic can't come back soon enough.
Stojkovic 7
Ivanovic 7 Nastasic 6.5 Vukovic 6.5
Rukavina 7 Milivojevic 6 Gudelj 6 Kolarov 7
Tadic 9 Pavlovic 6 Kostic 8
Subs
Katai 7
Tosic 6
S. Mitrovic 6.5
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