Gabby Agbonlahor: Rafa Benitez is under pressure after 5-2 loss v Watford
Everton manager Rafa Benitez is under a lot of pressure following Saturday’s 5-2 defeat to Watford, according to former striker Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The Toffees suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of West Ham United last weekend and could not bounce back when the Hornets came visiting.
Everton have now lost back-to-back league games at Goodison Park under Benitez and have been defeated thrice in 2021-22.
Benitez will be hoping that changes when they visit Wolverhampton Wanderers next weekend ahead of some very tough fixtures, and Agbonlahor reckons some Toffees fans could already start having doubts about him.
He said on talkSPORT (via their official Twitter account): “He sort of won over the Everton fans a little bit by the start of the season. A lot of them weren’t happy with him being appointed.
“I think the honeymoon is probably over. Another one on them results at home, and you can see how the fans at can turn at Goodison Park, and they will be thinking, “hang on a second, is he the right appointment for the job?” So, I think Rafa is under a lot of pressure.”
Pressure mounting?
While being without Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina and Abdoulaye Doucoure definitely hurt Everton’s chances of getting a win against Watford, there is no excuse for their 12-minute capitulation.
The players were woeful defensively, allowing Claudio Rainieri’s side equalise and score three more goals.
The manager always gets the blame, and the fans will hold Benitez responsible for the Toffees’ first-ever home defeat to Watford.
He is definitely going to start feeling the pressure now after most of the supporters left Goodison Park while the visitors were 3-2 up.
They were also angered by his decision to take Anthony Gordon off in the 60 minutes despite the fact that he was having a good game [The Athletic].
Everton fans are not the easiest to please, and Benitez has to find a quick response from his men after yesterday’s woeful performance.
In other Everton news, there are signs Toffees ace has swollen heart amid COVID alarming side effects.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on Everton and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.