Millonarios coach Alberto Gamero was impressed by Everton’s speed and resilience during their pre-season clash with the Premier League outfit on Sunday, while speaking to Canal RCN.
As debuts go, this was just about passable.
Rafa Benitez’s first game in charge of the Merseyside giants was a rather nervy affair, with a somewhat disjointed Everton side needing a second-half Demarai Gray penalty to cancel out Millonarios’ early opener.
But while the Florida Cup is not exactly the trophy many Toffees fans were dreaming off as their bid to end a 26-year silverware drought goes on, there were still plenty of positives to take from a performance which, while far from free-flowing, was still impressively functional.
Asmir Begovic scored and then saved penalties as Everton prevailed 10-9 in the shoot-out, while Andros Townsend, Nathan Broadhead, the returning Jean-Philippe Gbamin and goalscorer Demarai Gray made their presence felt.
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“Against an opponent who plays very long, who plays direct and who are fast, who defends very well, and retreats well, it seems to me that we played a good game,” Gamero said at full-time.
Clearly, Benitez has already managed to instil some discipline and diligence into a defence which was breached far too often during a difficult end to the Carlo Ancelotti reign, a tendency to collapse under minimal pressure leading to an eventual tenth place finish.
It remains to be seen whether Everton’s most naturally gifted player, James Rodriguez, stays for a second season at Goodison Park. Colombia’s favourite son endured a rather tense relationship with Benitez at Real Madrid after all.
“I see James playing well, finding him form,” Millonarios captain David Silva (no, not that one) told Futbol Red.
“He is definitely a benchmark of our football, he is a different player and it shows. The pre-season is going to go very well for him and he will be at his usual level, which is extraordinary.”
James played the first half on Sunday, showing some neat touches before being replaced by Gray at the interval.
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