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'Strong Team Ethic The Bedrock For Success'

Rafa Benitez praised the attitude and adaptability of Richarlison after the Brazilian made sacrifices for the team against Burnley.

Richarlison, who most commonly operates in wide areas, was deployed as the focal point of Everton's attack and impressed with a battling display in a highly-physical contest against the Clarets.

And, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin expected to miss “two or three weeks” with a quadriceps injury, it leaves the Olympic gold medalist and deadline-day signing Salomón Rondón as the main options to lead the frontline for this weekend's trip to Aston Villa.

"Richarlison did a great effort [against Burnley]," Benitez told evertontv.

"I think he played really well. Maybe he didn't have the chances but in terms of what we needed to play against two big, strong centre-backs, for him it was not easy and I was really impressed with some of the things he did.

"Because we didn't play well in the first half to provide him with better service, better passes, he couldn't be brilliant [in front of goal] – but his effort was really good.

"In the second half, I decided to change him. Maybe he would have been happier to try to stay on the pitch and score but I wanted to give a chance to Rondon because he has not been playing football for four months.


"We needed to give him some match fitness, at least 10 minutes, to see how he is getting on."

Having falling behind to Ben Mee's header, the Blues hit back in stunning fashion with three goals in a scintillating six-minute second-half spell.

It was the second successive game – following Southampton on the opening day of the campaign – Everton recorded victory after conceding the first goal.

The Toffees managed that feat only twice in in the previous 59 Premier League matches when they conceded the opener.


And manager Benitez believes the grit and strong team ethic currently on display from his side qualify as sound foundations for success.

"[Strong team ethic] is the key if you want to be successful," he added. "Sometimes, you can depend on one player but the reality is, if you want to win trophies and want to compete, you have to have a team. 

"So, then, to have so many players working so hard and players on the bench when they come on the pitch and give their best, I think that is the best thing that can happen. 

"We have some players who can take the credit for everything but, to be fair, for the defenders it was not an easy game and they did well. We had a couple of players with some little problems but they were still out there on the pitch.

"Seamus was injured with his country and was a little bit of a risk but he did well. Yerry Mina was the same. 

"We had players with problems still wanting to play and do well for the team. 

"That is good news for the future."