Sam Allardyce has accused Everton's players of not playing for Rafa Benitez and has taken aim at Richarlison for his reaction to being substituted during the defeat to Crystal Palace.
The pressure was further heaped on Benitez following his side’s 3-1 defeat to Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Conor Gallagher opened the scoring shortly before half-time at Selhurst Park before James Tomkins doubled Palace’s lead just before the hour mark.
Salomon Rondon came off the bench to pull one back for the Blues before Gallagher put the game to bed with a stunning strike deep into stoppage time.
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The result means that Everton have won just once in their last 10 games and currently sit seven points above the drop zone.
And while Allardyce believes Benitez will be "devastated" by his side's current run of form, he feels Everton's players are not performing to the level they were at the start of the season.
“He’d be devastated, a man with his experience and what he’s done and where he’s held in the football world,” he told talkSPORT on Monday morning.
“People would have expected him to do an awful lot more than he’s doing at the moment.
"Unfortunately the Everton players are not performing to the level they were at the start of the season.
“One win in 10, that is something that will be seriously looked at. When you get a bad run, normally you don’t last very long.”
Despite the defeat, the main talking point from the game was Benitez’s decision to replace Richarlison for Rondon after just 58 minutes.
The Brazilian looked massively frustrated to be taken off by his boss, with the change being booed by Blues supporters in attendance.
Benitez hit back at the Everton fans that booed his decision after the game claiming the forward had a "problem in his calf".
And former Blues boss Allardyce has slammed Richarlison for his reaction and believes he showed real petulance.
He said: “When you see Richarlison doing what he’s doing, it’s not the best thing for a manager when he starts shaking his head.
“That’s the last thing Rafa needs at the moment, an individual showing petulance, that can reverberate around the world with the press by saying ‘the manager’s lost the players’ and that sort of stuff.”
