It’s never been a secret that Manchester United love to follow Portugal’s big teams very closely. Red Devils scouts have been following Portuguese football for years, with special attention given to Benfica, Porto and Sporting.
Since the start of the pandemic, when fans were not allowed at football stadiums, that was the same rule for club officials, so no scouts were in attendance in Portugal for over a year.
They’ve now returned, and with Benfica once again in action for the Champions League play-offs, Manchester United went to pay them a visit last night.
The Red Devils’ presence at the Estádio da Luz is reported by newspaper A Bola, who say the club had an official watching the Eagles’ clash against PSV Eindhoven.
Benfica are probably happy with the 2-1 win, as PSV had a great second half and nearly equalised the tie. The Dutch side were stopped by Eagles goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who’s on Portuguese front pages today.
It’s always hard to guess who Manchester United could be impressed by, but last night they were able to watch good performances from Rafa Silva, Noni Madueke, Cody Gakpo and especially the Greek goalkeeper.
Benfica and PSV now play a decisive tie in Eindhoven next week, perhaps under the eyes of the Red Devils again.
