Gabriel
Well-Known Member
It’s not the best Marseille side, true, but it was decent enough to have taken Benfica the distance on the night and an upgrade on the Rangers side they met in the previous round. That was all I meant.
Having had both eyes on the game, I would say Neves played well. He always made himself available in central midfield and kept Benfica moving with his accurate passing, both feet and often first-time. He was also instrumental in driving the side forward, especially in the first-half when he split the lines with forward passes and then made deep runs in support. He also slotted into the back line to stretch play and into left-back when Aursnes moved forward, so he can clearly understand bigger pictures on the pitch.
As I said, this was a decent Marseille side and one that offered a different challenge to Rangers. Both of those games were in appalling conditions and the ball was often played long, which is where his lack of height becomes an issue; Rodri can attack balls in the air and that allows our central defenders to sweep. Neves doesn’t shirk from physical challenges, though, and sat a number of Marseille players on their derrières with his hips (like Doku) and low centre of gravity. Whether he has the lung power to chase back is something I have yet to see, but the football intelligence is certainly in place.
The asking price seems a lot, granted, but those who raised concerns when Gvardiol was signed would now accept that you pay for the elite.