Red Star beat the Swedish side 0-1 tonight in Malmö, securing their place in the knockout phase of the Europa League. The star of the show, Vasilije Kostov, scored the only goal in the game, his second in this competition thus far. The 17-year-old midfielder made good use of a masterful pass by the experienced Austrian captain, Marko Arnautović, helping his side climb up to 11th place in the Europa League table.
The only chance we’ve seen Malmö take ended poorly in the third minute, with Emmanuel Ekong missing the goal by only a few centimeters. After Kostov pierced the net in the 16th minute, the Serbian side continued to dominate possession for the rest of the game. That being said, we’ve seen Red Star display minimal effort.
Out of 11 shots, only 3 were shot on target for the Red and White. Their players were slow, unimaginative, and almost comically clumsy, missing chances that academy players would’ve taken advantage of. They made an unnecessarily large number of backward passes, demonstrating a lack of confidence or perhaps a lack of motivation and creativity. Timi Max Elšnik missed two shots that would get him shipped off on loan If he were playing in any of the Top 5 League clubs. To top it all off, the Red Star players didn’t even bother to warm up ahead of the second half.
Red Star have recently parted ways with Vladan Milojević, a manager who helped the club reach the Champions League group phase three times, and Europa League group phase two times. Not a small feat for a club that plays in the Serbian Mozzart Bet Super League, regardless of their current form. Their new manager is the former Inter star, Dejan Stanković, and this was his very first European fixture. We can only hope he will do something about his team’s lack of will and respect for the competitions they play in.
Malmö now has only one point in the Europa League table and will end their European season with an away game against Genk. Red Star will be hosting Celta Vigo at home next Thursday. If they somehow manage to win, they could theoretically still make it to the round of 16 in this competition. An attitude change would benefit the Serbian side in their efforts.