Watch: Manchester United target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic drives effort from outside the area to give Serbia a 2-1 lead

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Serbia are 2-1 up against Cameroon, courtesy of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Serbia scores their team's second goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group G match between Cameroon and Serbia at Al Janoub Stadium on November 28, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar.
(Image credit: Adam Pretty - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has shown the Premier League exactly what they're missing with a World Cup 2022 goal to bring Serbia into the lead from behind against Cameroon.

The Lazio man has been linked with the likes of Manchester United for years now and was the man in the right place at the right time towards the end of the first half. Serbia found themselves a goal behind, too, and only fought their way back into the contest towards the end of the half. 

United fans will be watching SMS closely after reports linking the Red Devils with him – and they'll be impressed with this strike. 

Aleksandar Mitrovic had Fulham fans holding their breath after a minute of the game, landing awkwardly from a very early challenge – but recovered within the first 10 minutes to strike the inside of Devis Epassy’s goal. Epassy was a shock inclusion to the line-up, replacing Inter Milan custodian Andre Onana, after the Cameroonian No.1 fell out with his manager over compromising his play style. 16 minutes in, Mitrovic would have been furious with himself for not testing the Indomitable Lions’ inexperienced custodian, scuffing a gilt-edged opportunity wide after the Cameroonian defence failed to clear the ball.

Around 28 minutes, Cameroon managed to surprise Serbia against the run of play. When a corner was whipped into the mixer, Nantes defender Jean-Charles Castelletto reacted first to stab the ball home from close range for his first international goal. Serbia started to pile the pressure on in response – and just after the half-hour mark, goalkeeper Epassy almost dropped a catch in front of Serbia No.10 Dusan Tadic when the ball flew into his area. 

Serbia dominated for much of the first half and in added time, they got their reward. Red Bull Salzburg defender Strahinja Pavlovic managed to outjump Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to nod a free-kick into the back of the net before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic added the second with his excellent drive from outside the area. Minutes before, too, midfielder Pierre Kunde – who didn’t feature in the opening match – maybe could have doubled the lead, after he had an effort across the goalkeeper saved, reacted first to the rebound and couldn’t direct it on target. 

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.