The reigning champions of the UEFA Nations League brilliantly extended their head-to-head unbeaten run to three against the Eagles of Serbia after a unilateral 3-0 triumph at a packed Estadio Nuevo Arcángel.
Serbia’s confidence prior to the match and their good moments early in the fixture ended abruptly as the reigning European Champions needed just five minutes to grab the lead in the aftermath of a heavy rainfall in Córdoba.
Pedro Porro’s exciting cross towards the back post was succinctly headed in the Serbia goal by his defensive partner Aymeric Laporte. As the game ensued, Spain’s unrivaled dominance of the game saw them pelt their visitors repeatedly with a number of goal-bound chances at their disposal.
Following an unsatisfying display of his side in the first half, the Serbian coach called upon the services of Marko Grujic and Luka Jovic to shake things up in the offensive department in the second period but it was Alvaro Morata who spurned Spain’s chance of grabbing a second goal when he blazed his penalty wide – after Veljko Birmancevic had handled Porro’s effort.
Serbia’s golden chance of the game was misfired by Aleksandar Mitrovic without any external pressure – a miss his team dearly paid for subsequently when Morata atoned for his missed penalty by expertly side-footing the ball beyond the reach of Rajkovic following a swift one-two with Fabian Ruiz.
A dramatic sixty seconds in the tie saw Serbia reduced to ten men with the exit of Strahinja Pavlovic from the game, after the VAR upgraded his initial yellow to a red for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Alex Baena sublimely fired the resulting free-kick past Rajkovic to make it 3-0, as Luis De La Fuente’s side seals a place in the quarterfinals that are scheduled to take place next year, while third placed Serbia will now have to win their two remaining matches against Switzerland and Denmark to stand a chance of qualifying for the next stage of the 2024-25 edition and ultimately avoiding relegation.
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