RAFA HITS RICH FOR REF RUN-IN
Benitez fines suspended star
RAFA BENITEZ has warned Richarlison to keep a cool head after he was fined for picking up five yellow cards in just eight games.
The Everton forward will miss the Toffees’ trip to Brentford on Sunday through suspension after picking up his latest caution against Manchester City last weekend.
Everton manager Benitez said: “He knows that it’s too early to have five yellow cards, everybody knows that it’s like that.
“He cannot react sometimes and he has to stay more calm during the game.
“Sometimes his frustration, if they don’t give a foul, his reaction is out of control.
“He has to be more aware of that and, after, focus on the game. He’s a very good player and he can be an important player for us. He can be a threat for defenders, if he can stay focused.”
The absence of Richarlison is a further blow for
Benitez as his side are without a win in six games.
The 24-year-old has been subjected to a standard fine for indiscipline and the Toffees will now be without their two star forwards, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin is still batting with a thigh injury.
Benitez said: “Everybody knows what the process is in a football team.You have some proceedings, normal things, he knows, he realised he has made a mistake.
“But the main thing for me is to clear his mind and he has to be ready to be an important player for us in the next games. “Without Dominic he is a key player for us and he has to be one of the best players during the season. He did well last year, but he can do better because he has the potential to do better.”
Benitez will be going up against a former player in Ivan Toney. But he rejected the claim he overlooked the striker when they were both at Newcastle.
Toney, 25, never started a game for the Magpies, made just four substitute appearances and had six different loans during his time at the club. He left in 2018 for Peterborough when Benitez was in charge at Newcastle and then fired Brentford to the Premier League last term.
The Spaniard said: “I didn’t meet Ivan Toney any time when I was at Newcastle.. “I didn’t coach him any day because he was on loan and the club sold him. So I had no contact with Ivan Toney.”