Former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison has hit out at Richarlison for the way he reacted to being substituted, during Everton’s 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Toffees were 1-0 down through Conor Gallagher’s first half strike when Rafael Benitez made the decision to replace the Brazilian forward with Salomon Rondon in the 68th minute.
The change was met by a chorus of boos from Blues fans and Richarlison didn’t hold back from showing his frustration at being withdrawn, clearly cutting a frustrated figure as he left the pitch.
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Palace went on to double their lead through James Tomkins, however Rondon did reduce the deficit shortly after coming on.
Gallagher scored again in injury-time to seal a comfortable win for Patrick Vieira’s side.
Morrison felt taking Richarlison off was the wrong decision but was left unimpressed by his petulant gestures as he left the field of play.
“Richarlison is frustrated but he can’t react like that, he has to respect his manager,” Morrison said during BBC radio five live’s commentary of the game.
After Rondon’s goal seemingly justified Benitez’s decision, the former Palace striker added: “ I don’t think it was right to bring off Richarlison but he’s made an impact straight away.”
The Brazilian notched his third goal in 11 appearances during last Monday’s 2-1 win over Arsenal.
Since joining Everton from Watford in the summer of 2018, Richarlison has scored 45 times and notched another 11 assists in 130 games.
Defeat on Sunday has left the Blues 16th in the Premier League table, next up for Benitez’s side is a tricky trip to Chelsea on Thursday evening.
