"I liked it a lot," Marco Silva said after Claudio Echeverri's first meaningful Benfica outing. The Manchester City loanee needed only 18 minutes against Gil Vicente to supply the assist for Gianluca Prestianni's goal, and the response from the bench was immediate.
Silva's view of Echeverri
Speaking to A Bola, Silva said Echeverri brought calmness, took responsibility and offered a creative threat arriving in the area. He also said Benfica needed that kind of player, which is a fairly direct hint that the club want more than a one-off cameo from him.
The numbers are still tiny. Echeverri has made only 1 Primeira Liga appearance and played 18 minutes in the competition, so Benfica are judging him on very little football. That is why the reaction to this brief spell stands out, especially when the assist came for Gianluca Prestianni, who already has 7 league appearances and 5 goals.
Echeverri himself was just as keen to get moving, telling A Bola: "I cannot wait to be able to play."
Benfica's next test
Benfica are back on 11 October, when they host Guimaraes in a league match. The international break gives Silva a short window to keep working on Echeverri's role, after a debut spell that looked designed to speed up his integration rather than ease him in gently.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
