Watford were one of the clubs who had scouts watching the Portuguese Cup tie between Rio Ave and Benfica last night.
As reported by O Jogo today, Marco Silva’s side had an emissary watch the game, which turned out to have quite a surprising result.
In one more disappointing performance this season, Benfica were eliminated from the tournament after a 3-2 loss in extra time.
That’s why in case the Hornets were interested in watching the Lisbon side, they’ll have been disappointed.
Sporting loanee impressing
Rio Ave’s fantastic result started from the back, with Goalkeeper Cassio making great saves to guarantee the result, which led to him being Man of the Match.
Their best outfield player was the Sporting loanee Francisco Geraldes, having provided two assists and being responsible for creating for most of the game. Winger Ruben Ribeiro and defensive midfielder Pelé did fine as well.
As you always expect high standards from Benfica, there wasn’t much to be praised in the away side. Fair play to André Almeida, who keeps being a solid right-back and once again made an assist.
Constant scouting
This was the fourth time that Watford watched Benfica this season, at least according to what was reported. They also had scouts at Champions League games against Basel and CSKA, and at a league tie against Boavista. However, no players have been linked to the Premier League club.
Not in big company
As an away cup tie, this Benfica game didn’t attract many interested sides this time. Apart from the Hornets, only Manchester United, West Ham, Celta Vigo and Montpellier sent scouts to the Estádio dos Arcos.
