Everton manager Rafa Benitez has explained why he substituted Richarlison during the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Supporters booed and jeered Benitez when he replaced Richarlison with Salomon Rondon early in the second-half.
"The substitution...I cannot explain everything all of the time," Benitez said.
"We didn't have Allan coming [to the game] because of a small injury. Richarlison, at half-time, we could see him limping and he had a problem with his calf. We tried to make the substitution at half-time but he said he wanted to try the second-half.
"It was obvious he was not at the level we were expecting and without (Dominic) Calvert-Lewin available we didn't want to take the risk.
"So you make a substitution and you cannot expect a fan to [know] why. The player was not helping by moving his arms but he knew because he told us and would see he wasn't fully fit.
"We were trying to protect a player but it goes against you. Now you have an explanation. Hopefully everybody understands that we tried the best for the team and to protect a player."
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