REVIEW - IF 85 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

 

After 19 weeks of FIFA 18 we welcome the newest version of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, an aggressive and high reaching Serbian who’s card seems to rival the best. The 6’3” Slav earned his second spot into the TOTW after netting two goals against Chievo in Italy’s top division, giving us a mean looking card that gives Nainggolan a run for his money. I pitted him against some of the best in the Daily Knockout Tournament for ten consecutive games with a modest but effective team built around him. After some quality FIFA and a lot of armpit sweat I’m here to report on whether Sergej is worth his price of over 100,000 coins. (Stick around to the end for a couple bonus reviews of two other overlooked players in this weeks TOTW).

This review is based off of 9/10 games using the “Basic” chemistry style, and he was supported by the following team: 

 

PACE

Our 85 rated Nainggolan look-alike steps up to the plate with 76 pace. If I was you I’d read that number and shrug, it’s really nothing special. But he towers over most players by standing very tall at 6’3” (191cm). With that type of height you’d expect <70 pace. For comparison 5’9” (176cm) Nainggolan has 78 pace, and Paul Pogba, who’s the same height as Sergej, has 74 pace. So he’s nearly as quick as Nainggolan and faster than Paul Pogba right off the bat. In game he accelerates slowly, but once he’s taken two strides with the ball he’s able to outpace defenders fairly often. All in all he has decent pace and it’s nothing special, but paired with his height he’s storming his way through the midfield much like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Rating; 3.5/5

SHOOTING

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a gift that keeps on giving. Of all the stats on his card his shooting is the one that is the most misleading. After only 10 games he managed to score 15 goals for me from the CM position in a 4-1-2-1-2 (2), no instructions or chemistry style given. His 80 finishing felt more like 85, which is paired with a scary 97 shot power. But what stood out the most was his 92 positioning. Sergej has High/Medium work rates meaning he’s pushing up to a CAM position from CM. He seemed to join every attack I was making and so often he would be in the perfect position to tap it in with ease. It honest to god stunned me that without forcing the ball to him at all, he was just there to score like it was nothing. Game after game he was outscoring my forwards and making them look like buffoons. Whether it was a powerful shot across the keeper, a low driven into the bottom corner, a tap in with no keeper in sight, Sergej knew how to score very impressively for a defensive-minded midfielder. His shooting had me reminiscent of prime Patrick Vieira or Icon Matthaus. What I’m trying to say is I trust him in front of goal as much as I’d trust my striker, which sounds odd in retrospect but it’s the truth.

Rating; 4/5

PASSING

The Serbian superstar has some pretty bang average passing on his card, let’s not sugar coat it. 81 passing isn’t the most impressive, but in truth the stats are concentrated. His 44 penalties drag down the average. He actually has 87 short passing, 85 long passing, and 85 vision. 95% of his passes every game are spot on with no problem. He makes the passes he needs to make and has no problem sending a crucial through ball to give you the lead in a close game as well. Savic does not disappoint, but it also isn’t his stand out stat.

Rating; 3.5/5

DRIBBLING

Dribbling isn’t exactly what you expect from a tall and mostly defensive midfielder. You’d expect him to put in momentum swinging tackles and break a couple noses, right? Not quite, Sergej manages to do it all. 85 dribbling on his card is impressive, and even more so when you look closer. 90 ball control, 87 dribbling, and 81 composure show that he has no problem moving his way up the pitch. If we take a look at Bakayoko for example he really has one or two key features, defending and physical. Once Bakayoko wins the ball back he’s sending it to essentially anyone else who doesn’t have a brick in their shoe to move it up the pitch. Yet when Savic wins the ball back, you no longer have to get rid of it as quickly as possible because he can actually maneuver his way through your opponent. Now he’s no Nainggolan as he lacks the agility considering his height, and neither is he Paul “It’s only okay to dab with me” Pogba, but he’s still usable on the ball and that’s not something you can say about many players similar to him such as Matic, Busquets, Khedira, etc. He has a very close control when he’s moving slowly (especially when using LT/L2) and that allows him to be an attacking threat as well as a defensive one. In all honesty he surprised me considering how I came into this assuming he’d feel odd and displaced dribbling. He does lack agility considering it’s only 71 rated, which to be fair isn’t terrible. But 63 balance isn’t too helpful and should scare you away from being too adventurous with him.

Rating; 3.5/5

DEFENDING

Having that 81 defending is what makes Sergej’s card appealing, it shows that he can do it all! But I’d like to shed some light on that. First of all, he has High/Medium work rates. What this means is that Sergej is essentially playing the role of your CAM (unless you stick him at CDM and to “Stay Back While Attacking” which I do not recommend). He loves to push up with the play and get involved instead of playing a deep playmaker role sitting further back. With that clarified, his defending isn’t noticed for that reason. Yes he will intercept the ball for you a couple times and make a few tackles, but the way he’s designed is not to sit back and fulfill only that role. You’ll notice him trying to start an attack more often that he is trying to dismantle your opponents. When he is in that position to defend though he does a good job. His 81 standing tackle shows he’s no stranger to stepping on an ankle or cutting off a play. That paired with 86 interceptions helps Sergej to turn your opponents attack into your counter, not only that but he can scoop up a loose ball and work it up the pitch himself much like a one man army. When compared to the likes of Nainggolan who is most likely your other option at the moment, Nainggolan is the better of the two at defending hands down. But Sergej is less of a pest in the midfield like a Kante or Nainggolan and instead a Pogba/Alli/Hamsik/Vieira who aims to play nearly every role in the midfield defensive or not. For that reason I do not recommend using him as a CDM, but as a CM because he’s a card that is always itching to move alongside Mertens and Dybala instead of Koulibaly and Chiellini.

Rating; 3/5

PHYSICAL

If I was asked to point out what area makes Sergej the Serbian tank, I think you’d point to physical before I did considering I called him a tank, which is pretty self-explanatory…

His obscene 89 strength means he does not bow down to anyone (except Bailly and Ibrahimovic of course). His tank tread-like legs plow him through anyone brave enough to challenge the Serb. You can find Sergej by following the trail of injured midfielders and he’ll surely be waiting at the end without a scratch on him. Not only that, but he’ll be able to do it for all 90 minutes considering he has 88 stamina, I did find him to have trouble in extra-time though so be wary because he begins to run out of petrol. One good thing I noticed with Sergej is he’s often at the front post during corners, both on the attack and defense. Since he’s 6’3” and has 88 jumping and 95 heading accuracy he will have no trouble redirecting a corner into the back of the net. Of my 15 goals with him I believe 2 were from set pieces like those. You’d think physically Nainggolan has no chance to stand toe to toe with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but he does due to one stat. Sergej’s 75 aggression leaves something to be desired, meaning he doesn’t lunge into tackles giving 100% like Nainggolan will. You’ll notice his strength not necessarily when he’s fighting to get the ball, but rather to keep possession of it.

Rating; 4.5/5

MENTALITY

With all of the 6 major sections discussed, there’s still one more, Sergej’s mentality. Is that the right word for this? No probably not, but my thesaurus let me down. Anyone with 3 star skill moves is generally at a disadvantage this year, but some players simply don’t need it. Sergej is a pretty cut and dry player. He is able to do just about everything needed from him and well, in the end you don’t really realize that he has 3 star skill moves. He’s a player who doesn’t really need it because it doesn’t fit his play style. If he had 4 star skill moves I’d be even more impressed but honestly he’s not breaking down the wing, and he’s not trying to dribble one-on-one with the opposing defenders most of the time. In all honesty it doesn’t set him back and I don’t find it as a con for his card. His 4 star weak foot is a big bonus though. One of the reasons he’s such a well-rounded player continues to the fact that he can nearly use both feet equally as well. In front of the net he has no issue on his left and the same goes for passing. Is it just as good as his right foot? No, and you might notice it at times but only if he’s taking a long shot from outside the box where power and precision are an absolute must. Sergej even boasts the “Power header” trait alongside the “Flair” trait. He really has no problem taking the role of everything from a defensive midfielder to a striker when he’s called upon.

Rating; 3.5/5

CONSENSUS

Average Rating; 3.64/5

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is in my opinion a must-have in any Italian league side, or any modest Weekend League side. I’m not simply saying that, in my eyes he is the cheap man’s Vieira and Pogba hybrid. But you have to play him to his strengths. He is not a CDM, his work rates simply do not support a defensive style because he’d always be out of position. And to be quite honest neither is he a box-to-box midfielder who will push back and bomb forwards. If you’re planning on buying his card, expect 25% defending, 25% dictating the midfield, and 50% attacking. You have to let him play the ball, win the ball, and get in the right position to finish the ball. He will silently appear and score, aggressively pound his way through the middle of the pitch, and efficiently stop an attack all within 5 minutes.

I found him to work best as a central midfielder with no instructions. I once heard some wise words somewhere that said “he protec, but he also attac”. Truer words have been never spoken, do not confine him to a role or a position but rather let him do what he does and in the end you’ll be happy. And if you were entertaining the idea of a chemistry style to best boost this robust and strapping Serbian I would recommend using Engine to better his dribbling, pace, and passing. But in the end I wish you not good luck, but rather your opponent, because I don’t believe that anyone is ready to come up against Sergej “The Unicycle Bear” Milinkovic-Savic.
 

Game stats:

 

Game Highlights:
 

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Bonus Review!

Alongside the main Serbian player I had the new inform Kessie and Monreal as they had caught my eye. Both of them are nearly discard prices around 15,000 coins but I had figured they were worth a try in the team so I fit them in.

Kessie surprised me the most, he’s incredibly quick and dives into his tackles aggressively. He just has the drive to win the ball back. But he’s definitely more defensive minded in comparison to Sergej. His High/High work rates mean he’s up and down the pitch defending and aiding the attack. His passing is consistent and deliberate and dribbling is up to par with top defensive midfielders. What shines the most though is his physical, Kessie has 86 strength and even 89 stamina meaning he’s able to bully people off the ball all 90 minutes. He’s like a FIFA 17 Renato Sanches.

Monreal is really nothing special I’m sorry to say, especially coming from an Arsenal fan. He had his moments but in general he’s average and you’re much better off with any other fullback who has over 83 pace. If you did decide to use him I highly recommend boosting his pace fully with a shadow. His best area is his defending. He does have impressive dribbling for a fullback which is very nice to have, along with good passing too. But to be quite honest those are not the important stats needed for a fullback.