Franjo Ivanovic still struggling, tough times continue at Benfica | OneFootball

Franjo Ivanovic continues to have no luck at Benfica. The athlete, who cost the Eagles a fortune, has struggled to establish himself in the squad, despite a promising start. However, with José Mourinho, the Croatian once again squandered opportunities, this time in the Portuguese Cup.

With few minutes on the pitch since the Special One replaced Bruno Lage as head coach, the Eagles' number 9 delivered another performance far below expectations, which justified his substitution at halftime. Ivanovic still hasn't justified the significant investment - 22.5 million euros - that the Club of Light made in the summer.

The lack of assertion with the Sacred Mantle is not only due to the scarcity of goals but also because the forward cannot connect with the rest of the team. Since José Mourinho took the reins, the Portuguese coach has deployed the Croatian in various positions in the Eagles' attack, but Ivanovic has not been convincing, which has resulted in limited playing time.

If his situation was already complicated recently, even with the national team, where he has also been criticized, the way he approached the game against the Liga 3 team did not please José Mourinho at all, who likely lost what little confidence he had left in the player's abilities.

Franjo Ivanovic - valued at 20 million euros - continues to be unconvincing. This season, with Benfica's Sacred Mantle, the Croatian international has competed in 19 official matches, both in national and European competitions. In the 833 minutes he was on the field, the forward scored four goals.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.