Benfica took on Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, with scouts from Celtic, Newcastle and West Ham in the crowd.
Benfica’s Estadio da Luz
Scout from Arsenal, Celtic, Chelsea, Leicester, Manchester United, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Wigan Athletic watched Benfica take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The knockout stages of the Champions League began on Tuesday night, and whilst much of the focus was placed on Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-0 win over Barcelona, Benfica were also taking on Borussia Dortmund.
After Dortmund’s star striker Pierre-Emile Aubameyang squandered a couple of openings, Benfica grabbed a shock lead as former Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou forced the ball home from close range.
Aubameyang’s night went from bad to worse as he skied another chance before having a tame penalty saved by Ederson, meaning Benfica will head into the second leg with a 1-0 lead.
The winter transfer window may be closed, but scouting ahead of the summer transfer window continues, and that was certainly the case at the Estadio Da Luz on Tuesday evening.
As posted on Twitter by Portuguese journalist Tiago Estevao, a huge list of clubs from Britain and elsewhere in Europe were in attendance to watch potential transfer targets.
Benfica players celebrate after the game
The list of teams (as seen blow), handed out to press at the stadium, contained the likes of Celtic, Newcastle United and West Ham United, as well as Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Manchester United, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic.
From the two starting line-ups, it seems unlikely that Celtic would be able to afford any of the players on the pitch, but goalscorer Mitroglou could fit the bill for West Ham as they search or attacking reinforcements at the end of the season.
The likes of Nelson Semedo, Victor Lindelof, Ousmane Dembele, Marcos Reus and the aforementioned Aubameyang will have all attracted interest from the top sides, but it’s unclear just who the likes of Celtic or Newcastle could have been watching.
Who would you like to see your club sign from Benfica or Borussia Dortmund?
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