Over the weekend, Portuguese newspaper Record reported Everton scouts watched Saturday’s league game between Boavista and Benfica.
The home side managed to make a great 2-1 comeback against the Eagles, which was a great surprise for anyone who watched the match.
Benfica striker Jonas opened the score, but Boavista managed to get a win with a free-kick equalizer from Renato Santos (and a bit of help from the Eagles’ goalkeeper Bruno Varela) and a winner by Fabio Espinho.
Likely target
Everton fans probably remember all the rumours surrounding Raul Jimenez in the last transfer window. The Portuguese press continued claiming the Toffees were willing to sign him as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, but a deal was never found because of Benfica’s demands.
There was even a claim Everton had offered €45m, which seemed more than enough, but Benfica rejected.
On Saturday, as usual, Raul Jimenez started the game on the bench and ended up having only ten minutes to show something and try to find an equaliser for Benfica.
He tried to bother the Boavista defenders with some physical strength, but couldn’t manage to get many shots off.
Those who impressed
Benfica didn’t have many players who did well, with defender Luisão and winger Andrija Zivkovic being the only two with a real positive display.
Boavista obviously got a great result, as Benfica are nomally the hardest team to beat in the league. That’s why several players were praised by the local media, with David Simão getting attention for changing the game after coming in as a sub, and goalscorers Fabio Espinho and Renato Santos being claimed the heroes.
Second time this season
Everton had already watched Benfica this season. It happened on August 26th, in a league game against Rio Ave. In that occasion, Jimenez also had only ten minutes to show something and wasn’t able to.
It’s going to be hard watching Jimenez, as his bench woes continue, and it’s going to be even harder for the Mexican to convince Everton he’s worth €40m+ in January or next summer.
