Colwill: Di Maria’s technical ability is crazy

• Benfica and Chelsea meet in the Round of 16 on Saturday
• Angel Di Maria remains one of the key cogs in the Portuguese side’s attack
• Team-mates and opponents hail the class shown by the Argentinian

There is a different energy in the building when Angel Di Maria is on the ball, even more so when he is charging at the opposition, in transition with the ball at his feet.

At age 37, the SL Benfica winger remains at the top. In his team’s Group C finale at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, he played a major part in the winning goal against FC Bayern München, earning them a first-place finish.

Next up is a Round-of-16 date with Chelsea FC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday, and if he sees the Argentinian flying down the flank against the Blues, Benfica forward Evangelos Pavlidis knows it’s time to get in position to score.

“Angel is a really good player, he has a lot of qualities, he can play on both sides,” said Pavlidis to reporters. “I now know a little bit better where I have to move or where I have to go so he can give me a pass to score, like I have all season.”

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The Greece international’s 19 league goals back that up, and it certainly has the Chelsea defence on notice. Back-line member Levi Colwill stressed that only if you can get Di Maria on his right foot, you might have a chance of stopping him.

“Of course he’s an amazing player, one that I grew up watching,” said Colwill. “His technical ability is crazy. Playing against him now, I hope they shut him down early and don’t give him any chances because he’s an amazing player and will take half the chances you give him. Hopefully we keep him off his left foot, and I hope he doesn’t score any goals against us.”

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Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was effusive in his praise for Di Maria in the tournament, especially in the group decider against the Germans.

“Di Maria is showing the big player that he is,” said Maresca in his pre-match press conference. “He’s a top player. I watched all his games in this competition. I watched the game against Bayern a few times and I think he was the best player on the pitch, so that shows how good he is still. We need to pay attention to him.”

The Di Maria dynamic is a luxury that Benfica coach Bruno Lage enjoys, but the Portuguese tactician was also quick to point out that it’s not just going forward where the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ winner shows his merit.

“Di Maria is not just transitions,” said Lage in his press conference. “He brings us quality in attacking moments, but he also proved that against Bayern without the ball. He had a fantastic game against Bayern, offensively and also in defence.”

It remains to be seen just how much longer the Di Maria era continues at Benfica at the Club World Cup, but for now, he has everyone's attention.