Newcastle United scouted the match between Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal on Sunday, Portuguese newspaper Record reports.
After many disappointing results this season, which still keep them in third place, the Eagles finally managed to get a convincing win, with a 6-0 result giving no chance to the away side.
Now after being eliminated from the Champions League, Benfica try to recover from this bad league start, with club president Luis Filipe Vieira saying the title is ‘still possible’ after this game.
Several players impressing
There was definitely a lot to be seen in yesterday’s game for the Newcastle official, and let’s start with who Record picked as man of the match. Brazilian defender Luisão scored the opener only seven minutes into the game, and still managed to have a very solid display at the back.
His defensive partner Jardel was also praised, and right-back André Almeida was another player from the back four who impressed, with one goal and one assist.
Midfielders Filip Krovinovic and Pizzi both did well in creation, while striker Jonas managed to score his 15th goal this season.
Old targets on the bench
The Magpies have been recently linked to two particular Benfica players. That’s Lisandro Lopez, whose agent claimed that there has been no contact from Newcastle when speaking to Sport Witness last week, and also Andreas Samaris, who the Premier League club reportedly bid for in the summer.
Lopez, as usual, didn’t feature in yesterday’s match, while Samaris was brought on in the second half and did nothing more than a few passes in midfield, with not much to show for it.
This is the third time Newcastle United have watched Benfica this season, so there could definitely still be an interest in some of these players.
