Strahinja Pavlovic has not been perfect, but he has already shown enough heart and determination to succeed to make AC Milan fans believe that he could develop into a pillar of the team.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have published an analysis of Pavlovic, at least based on what we have seen before. He is second in Serie A among defenders for balls recovered, second for defensive duels, first for attacking duels, third for dribbles and fifth for progressive passes.
But how does he play? Pavlovic was used as a left centre-back in a four-man defence at Red Bull Salzburg, as he has been at Milan so far. Paulo Fonseca has lined him up with Tomori and that is his starting pairing, although it would be interesting to see him with Gabbia, who is less quick but also less aggressive.
In the Serbian national team, however, he is the left-back in a three-man defence and the break was no exception: he played in that position against Spain and Denmark. This shows his versatility but it also allows him to work on his game because he naturally faces wingers more, wingers like Lamine Yamal who he got the better of.
Pavlovic’s main characteristic is aggression. He is physical, determined and he seeks duels rather than shying away. He doesn’t worry about breaking the line, following an opponent away from Mike Maignan’s goal to apply pressure and try to recover the ball.
There are pros and cons, of course, but Pavlovic is annoying and rough for any striker to face. In fact, in the first two games he went into a duel more than 10 times in 90 minutes, only Lucas Martinez Quarta did it more often.
Of course, a duel is always a risk, especially for Milan at the start of the season, who kept the defensive line very high, even in midfield. Denis Man took advantage of it for Parma, while the Serb received a yellow card after 34 minutes and did not change his attitude, continuing to fly into challenges.
Pavlovic against Lazio was the Milan player with the second-most passes after Tomori. Against Parma, the first. Many are obviously ordinary passes to move the ball safely during the build-up phase, but Pavlovic also takes risks here because he loves to play vertically and carry the ball.
Among defenders, he is fifth in Serie A for progressive passes (those that allow a significant advancement of the ball) after Casale, Bastoni, Di Lorenzo and Vogliacco. He ranks sixth for runs with the ball at his feet. However, against Lazio he misplaced 17 passes, so he must manage the ball better.
The true Pavlovic can be seen in the penalty area, with two great qualities and a potentially important flaw. The first quality: Pavlovic is a specialist in interventions and in last-second tackles: he has the timing, courage and physique to intervene in the most dangerous moments.
Second quality: in the opponent’s penalty area, he is dangerous because of his size and aerial ability. He scored against Lazio and the clear impression is that he can do it again, more than once. Milan have not been great on set pieces but they also missed chances, ones that Strahinja can take.
The flaw is in the defensive attention, in the choices. Milan conceded a goal from Dia also because Pavlovic made a mistake in his body position and got burned in the penalty area. Even on Castellanos’ goal, where many make mistakes, he made the wrong choice by not covering Tomori.
With all that being said, Pavlovic is a defender who at 23 years of age already has a great platform to build from and he will improve in various aspects. The good news for him is that Fonseca seems to want to give him as long as it takes.
