Aleksandar Mitrovic came into the World Cup on the back of a strong season on loan at Fulham from Newcastle, leading the Cottagers’ promotion campaign.

On Friday, he continued that good form, scoring Serbia’s first goal in their crucial Group E encounter against Switzerland. Unfortunately for the Serbs, they would succumb to a Swiss comeback to lose 2-1.

Here’s a closer look at Mitrovic’s performance.

KEY STATS

Goals – 1

Assists – 0

Shots – 6

Shots on target – 2

Passing accuracy – 55%

Aerial Duels won – 73%

30-SECOND REPORT

It was a mixed performance from Mitrovic, who scored a towering header to put Serbia ahead in the fifth minute. His strength made him a thorn in the side of the Swiss defence, but he misplaced his passes often, killing Serbia’s attacks after he’d done the hard part of holding the ball up.

He also should have had a penalty, with the referee choosing not to consult VAR when Mitrovic was wrestled to the ground in the second half.

GOT RIGHT

His physicality made him a handful for Switzerland’s defence, as he used his strength to dominate in the air. The striker won eight out of his 11 aerial duels. He should have had a penalty in the second half – when Switzerland’s defenders decided the only way to deal with him was to wrestle him to the ground. It took two of them.

The goal Mitrovic scored was another display of strength – beating his defender on a cross to power home the opener.

GOT WRONG

His link-up play left a lot to be desired. Often, Mitrovic would use his prodigious strength to hold the ball up, only to give the ball away far too easily. Some of that was down to his teammates not being in the right position, but Mitrovic’s pass accuracy, 55% – was shockingly poor. Better link-up play could have led to more chances for Serbia on a night they needed a win to seal qualification into the Round of 16.

VERDICT

It was a bruising display from the striker, who will have wished for better performances from this teammates. He was left to do too much on his own, isolated up top and not getting enough opportunities to link up with his teammates.

When his chance came, he took it well, scoring the goal that seemed to have set Serbia on their way to the Round of 16. Instead, they became the first team to lose after taking a lead at this World Cup.

RATING – 7/10