Michael Ball has expressed in his column for the Liverpool Echo that Rafa Benitez showed he is learning from his mistakes at Everton in how he managed the game against Norwich.
The former Toffees defender feels Benitez realised he misjudged how the Blues should see out the game against Aston Villa. He opted to replace Salomon Rondon in the closing stages in Birmingham as the striker was struggling for fitness.
But the decision to take Rondon off left Everton without a player to build their attacks off and lost control. The Villans romped to a 3-0 win with goals in the 68th, 69th and 75th-minutes. Dealing Benitez his first defeat since taking charge at Goodison Park this summer.
Benitez learning from Everton mistakes
Ball feels Benitez has already taken his mismanagement of the Villa loss on board in how Everton dealt with Norwich. The Toffees returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at home to the Canaries on Saturday. With Rondon also playing the full 90-minutes.
Rondon is clearly still not at 100% after rarely featuring over the summer before joining the Blues on a free. The Venezuelan struggled to hold the ball up as effectively against Norwich and rarely found goalscoring opportunities, either.
But Ball believes Rondon is the embodiment of Benitez learning from his errors at Everton.
“I think what we can take from the decision is that Rafa is taking it game by game and he has learnt from past mistakes,” Ball wrote. “Although he didn’t look sharp against Aston Villa, the decision to take him off at Villa Park probably had a negative effect on us as his presence up top is enough to occupy two defenders and when he isn’t there, you notice.
“And I think we saw on Saturday with Andros Townsend coming off and Rondon remaining on the pitch that Rafa has learnt that keeping a forward on the pitch is vital in terms of game management. Managers live and die by their decisions, and while he may have got it wrong against Villa, Rafa made sure he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.”
Does Rondon need to offer more?
Everton returning to winning ways against Norwich will have pleased Benitez after suffering a first defeat at Aston Villa. But the Blues boss might feel he still needs to see more from Rondon, despite Ball praising his game management.
The Toffees visit Manchester United on Saturday with a chance to overtake the Red Devils in the Premier League table. Yet may arrive at Old Trafford without Dominic Calvert-Lewin again, as the striker continues his recovery from a quadriceps injury.
Benitez may need Rondon to offer Everton the goal presence he was not against Norwich, then. The 32-year-old is yet to score or assist after four appearances in all competitions, playing 235-minutes to date.
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