Fenerbahçe v Benfica: Richard Rios tipped as key player | OneFootball

Richard Ríos has been in the spotlight at Benfica, although not for the best reasons, considering that the Colombian midfielder has shown a performance below expectations since joining the Eagles. However, Pedro Sousa believes that the 25-year-old player could be crucial for this Wednesday's match against Fenerbahçe, which counts towards the Champions League play-off.

“Richard Ríos is clearly the player Benfica needs in this tie to be able to tip the balance,” the sports commentator began, speaking on the program ‘Record na Hora’.

Next, Pedro Sousa highlighted the fact that Richard Ríos, together with his midfield partner, has shown a visible carelessness in how he contests the ball: “He’s not the goalscorer, but he is the player who, in midfield, together with Enzo Barrenechea, committed 13 fouls and lost the ball 19 times. No team can withstand that.”

Insisting on the high volume of ball losses caused in midfield by both Ríos and Barrenechea, the commentator stated that this shouldn’t even happen: “When both central midfielders lose the ball 19 times, no matter who is there, that shouldn’t be possible.”

Finally, Pedro Sousa stated that Bruno Lage’s team needs the midfielder to perform against Fenerbahçe at the same level he played at for Palmeiras: “Benfica depends a lot on Richard Ríos, who needs to be at the same level as the level he showed when he played in the Brasileirão for a long time under Abel Ferreira’s management.”

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