Rafa Benitez knew the answer to the question he was posing. “What is the feeling of the last years for any Everton fan: success or frustration?” he asked. “They know the problems are not ones we can fix in just five months.”
Yet as he returns to the previous Premier League club where his past at Liverpool made him a controversial appointment, in Chelsea, Benitez’s talk of the long term, both past and future, comes in the context of the short term.
A Champions League winner faces the reigning European champions on Thursday with Everton favourites for an eighth defeat in 10 games during two months of troubles. The success of a wonderful comeback against Arsenal has been surrounded by frustration.
“I have been in all the situations you can think of,” said Benitez, argues the breadth of his experience equips him well. But, while his time at Anfield was expected to be the issue, he believes Everton’s recent history is more pertinent. His inheritance from Carlo Ancelotti consisted of a squad with a dubious fitness record.
Now last season’s top scorers and talismen, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, are both sidelined. The Englishman has not featured since August. The Brazilian played in both the Copa America and the Olympics in the summer but his body then broke down at Brentford on Sunday.
Benitez said the job was not bigger than he had expected but countered: “I will say more difficult.” He elaborated: “Last year the squad was around 16 [fit] players during the whole season. That means you have a lot of players that are not available and a lot of them were injury-prone, they were losing 30-40 per cent [of players] because they were injured.
"Dominic was playing 85 per cent [of games] last season and now he is playing 18 per cent. Now Richarlison is injured because maybe he has been overloaded. If you have Dominic Calvert-Lewin for three or four months fit, I am sure the team would be higher in the table and the fans would be happier.”
Instead, they displayed dissent when Richarlison was taken off at Brentford, little realising the severity of his calf problem. “We wanted to protect him,” said Benitez, but that that aim failed. He harked back to Everton’s encouraging start to the season. “Then we lost [Abdoulaye] Doucoure when he was playing really well,” he added.
Crystal Palace 3 Everton 1: player ratings
-
CRYSTAL PALACE RATINGS: Vicente Guaita 6 - Not much to deal with other than some speculative efforts that were easy for a goalkeeper of Guaita’s standards. AP -
Tyrick Mitchell 6 - Stretched the play down the left flank and didn't allow Townsend to work dangerous crossing angles. Getty -
Marc Guehi 8 - Thou shalt not pass! As Everton looked to move the ball into the Palace box, Guehi was there to remove the danger. Reuters -
James Tomkins 7 - A rare goal after the hour mark for the centre-back put the Eagles two goals to the good. Reuters -
Joel Ward 7 - A clearance at the end of the game looked to salvage Crystal Palace’s lead as Everton pushed desperately for an equaliser. AP -
Will Hughes 6 - Tidy on the ball and was always happy to receive it - even when in his own box to help out his defenders against Everton’s press. Getty -
Cheikhou Kouyate 7 - Broke up the play in the middle of the park and enforced his presence against the Everton midfielders. Dominant. Getty -
Conor Gallagher 9 - The 21-year-old has been unplayable this season and he continued that form today with a magnificent display, sealing the game with an emphatic strike. AP -
Wilfried Zaha 7 - Always a threat going forward but didn’t have as much success with his skills against the experienced Seamus Coleman. Produced some good passes into dangerous zones. Getty -
Odsonne Edouard 7 - Edouard is settling into life well at Selhurst Park and displayed some of his link-up ability on Sunday evening. Getty -
Jordan Ayew 6 - Ayew hasn’t scored in over 40 games, but he really should have found the net with his chance against Jordan Pickford. Got the assist for Gallagher’s opener. Getty -
SUBS: Jeffrey Schlupp (Hughes 73) N/R - Introduced for Will Hughes to add defensive stability. Getty -
Christian Benteke (Edouard 74) N/R - Replaced Edouard to play as a target man for the final period of the game. Getty -
Nathaniel Clyne (Mitchell 91) N/R - On for the final minutes of added time. Getty -
EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 6 - A good save early on denied Jordan Ayew but the goalkeeper won’t be happy with conceding three goals on the day. Getty -
Ben Godfrey 7 - Made a notable amount of defensive plays but it was a case of too much to deal with for Everton’s backline today. PA -
Mason Holgate 7 - Stopped a number of attacks against a relentless display from Patrick Vieira’s side. AFP -
Michael Keane 6 - Always positioned well to keep Crystal Palace’s centre-forwards quiet. But the defender will have some questions for the amount of space that Conor Gallagher was afforded. Getty -
Seamus Coleman 7 - Had a lot to do and dealt well with the majority of situations when called into action. Reuters -
Fabian Delph 6 - Broke up some Crystal Palace attacks but the midfield didn’t click on the night for Everton with no answer for Conor Gallagher. AFP -
Abdoulaye Doucoure 5 - Things didn’t seem to be in tune for Doucoure today with too many passes that failed to find their intended target. Wasteful. Getty -
Demarai Gray 5 - The winger was trying to repeat his heroics from the recent game against Arsenal, but he didn’t generate the power on his attempts to really trouble Guaita. Poor by his standards this season. Getty -
Andre Gomes 5 - A frustrating display from Gomes who isn’t back to his best form yet. The Portuguese star didn't seem to be able to match the intensity that Patrick Vieira's side presented at Selhurst Park. PA -
Andros Townsend 5 – Largely non-existent on his return to his former club. The ball rarely got worked to his side, leaving him with very few touches to make an impact on the game. Getty -
Richarlison 5 - An anonymous display saw him withdrawn for Rondon, much to the disapproval of the Everton fans. Getty -
SUBS: Anthony Gordon (Delph, 58) 6 - Had an effort what made the goalkeeper work but didn’t do much else. Getty -
Salomon Rondon (Richarlison, 69) 7 - A positive change for Everton as the 32-year-old held the ball up well and got on the scoresheet. Unlucky not to pick up an assist as Everton pushed for an equaliser. Getty
Everton’s results can be traced to the injury bulletin. They have won 67 per cent of league games with Calvert-Lewin, 23 without. They have won 42 per cent when Doucoure plays, zero per cent when he doesn’t. A lack of depth exacerbates the reliance on a small core.
“We will try to improve in January in terms of positions and names,” Benitez pledged. But it will a budget overhaul in a rebuilding project planned for several transfer windows “A lot of players are improving but some of the problems are the same problems,” he added. “You cannot solve them all just by signing three players and two keepers and spending £1.7 million.”
The midfield may be bolstered on Thursday. Allan – “a warrior, a fighter,” according to Benitez – has declared himself fit for an evening of adversity. “Nobody can expect we will go there and have 70 per cent of possession, it will be impossible,” the Spaniard said.
The exiled Lucas Digne was in the starting 11 in training on Tuesday but reported ill yesterday and is out, while the captain Seamus Coleman is a doubt. “The senior players think we are going in a right direction but you have to win games,” said Benitez. “We have to have a plan to get the best of our players and take advantage of the weaknesses of Chelsea. There are not so many.”
