Rafael Benítez defended his decision to substitute Richarlison for Salomón Rondón after the Everton fans greeted the change with a chorus of boos. Their team were trailing 1-0 at the time and struggling to create chances when the manager made the swap, drawing a hostile response.
Benítez, who has now seen his team lose seven of their past nine in the league after defeat at Selhurst Park, has been criticised for persevering with Rondón as Everton have struggled for goals, but said that the decision was based on an injury.
“Richarlison at half-time, we could see him limping,” Benítez said. “He has a problem with his calf. We tried to make the substitution at half-time, he said he wanted to try the second half.
“We cannot explain to every single fan why. The player was not happy, but we knew because he told us he was not fully fit. It was just trying to protect a player. Now you have the explanation and hopefully everybody will understand we try the best for the team, and the best for the team was to keep our players protected.”
Rondón scored Everton’s goal to pull the game back to 2-1 and they briefly threatened to snatch a point before Conor Gallagher scored his second of the game.
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“When you are disappointed because the team is not doing well, you can be emotional,” Benítez added. “We try to do the best for the team every time. We can make mistakes. But we know the players and we know how they are, and we try to make the right decisions.”
