Spotted: Everton fans unfurl Rafa Benitez banner at Chelsea
A depleted Everton side worked extremely hard to secure a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday night.
Mason Mount gave the hosts a deserved lead in the 70th minute. However, the Toffees fought back and found an equaliser through 19-year-old defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
According to Liverpool Echo journalist Adam Jones, there was a banner at the away section with a strong message directed at Rafa Benitez.
Jones wrote on Twitter: “There’s a banner in the #EFC away end. It says “Benitez get out of our club”, know its hard to read from that picture, I’m a bit fat away.”
Angry fans
Everton fans have vented their frustrations towards their team and board, this season already, with the results being very poor for the past few months.
Benitez has the backing of Farhad Moshiri, but he is not a popular figure among the fans. A section of fans believes that he only comes up with excuses and that he should be doing better with the squad he has got.
Everton have struggled badly with injuries, and Benitez fielded a depleted side against the Blues.
However, he deserves a lot of praise after the Toffees secured a good result away at Stamford Bridge.
Jordan Pickford was outstanding, with the England shot-stopper making several top-quality saves to keep the Toffees in the game.
Chelsea, almost full strength, kept on piling pressure but Everton stayed resolute and waited for their opportunity.
Benitez, who was back at the Bridge after a spell as Chelsea manager in 2012-13, will surely be delighted with the effort from his young players.
There is a hope that the squad will get better once the key players return from injury. At the moment, as many as 12 senior players are missing through injury and illness, and the job is getting tougher for the manager.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are plotting January loan-to-buy bid for centre-mid hailed by Jack Grealish last month.
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