International Friendlies
Sep 7, 2015 7.45pm
2
1
HT : 2 1
FT
  • Blaise Matuidi 9' goal
  • Blaise Matuidi 25' goal
  • Mathieu Valbuena 30' yellowcard
  • goal Aleksandar Mitrovic 40'
  • yellowcard Ljubomir Fejsa 60'

Blaise Matuidi double inspires France

Blaise Matuidi double inspires France

France continued their preparations for Euro 2016 by claiming a 2-1 victory over Serbia in Bordeaux this evening.

Antoine Griezmann came close for the hosts in the opening minutes, but his effort was kept out by Predrag Rajkovic.

France continued to threaten and in the ninth minute they took the lead when Blaise Matuidi arrived inside the box to head in Bacary Sagna's cross.

Olivier Giroud almost added a second goal minutes later, with a fierce drive that Rajkovic had to turn behind.

Nemanja Gudelj finally managed an effort on goal for the Serbians, but his strike was comfortably held by Hugo Lloris.

However, France soon doubled their advantage when Matuidi latched on to a clearance on the edge of the box, before rifling a volley through a crowded box and into the net.

With six minutes left to play in the first half Serbia pulled a goal back as Lazar Markovic's half-volley struck Aleksandar Mitrovic and deflected past the helpless Lloris.

Shortly after the break Griezmann almost restored France's two-goal lead, but after being played through on goal by Paul Pogba, he saw his attempt come back off the post.

Just past the hour mark Zoran Tosic threatened an equaliser for the visitors, but his strike towards the near post failed to find the target.

The closing stages passed by without much incident, as France held on to claim the win and keep up their momentum ahead of next summer's European Championship.

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