Everton fires Rafa Benitez; he left the club near relegation

Everton today fired coach Rafa Benitez after poor results in the campaign that left the team close to relegation. 

The Spanish coach only managed to record one win in 13 Premier League matches, which left the team in 16th place in the overall table with just 19 points from 19 games. 

For example, Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Mexican Raúl Jiménez plays, has accumulated 31 points in 20 games, which shows the terrible season the Toffees had with Benítez at the helm. 

The straw that broke the camel's back for the Liverpool club was Saturday's loss to Norwich, but it was just the latest blow for a manager who had accumulated only five wins, four draws, and 10 defeats all season. 

Benítez's sacking was celebrated on Twitter by the team's supporters

As soon as the sacking of the Spanish coach was announced, the tweet announcing the dismissal went viral with more than 7,000 retweets and 41,000 likes. 

The news was celebrated by the club's followers, who even began to name candidates to replace Benítez in the dugout. Some of the names mentioned were Vitor Pereira, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who is currently without a team, among other possible options. 

The club's statement about the dismissal was very brief and only read as follows:

"Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first-team coach. Benitez, who joined Everton in June 2021, has left the club with immediate effect. An update on a permanent replacement will be made in due course." 

Rafa Benitez left Everton close to the relegation zone

The Spanish coach not only left the club with a negative results record, but because of these results, they are close to the relegation zone. 

Rafa Benítez leaves the team with a record of 5 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats, totaling 19 points and placing them in 16th place in the Premier League, just 6 points away from the relegation zone.

That is to say, the Goodinson Park team is just above Norwich, Newcastle, and Burnley, teams that are already almost confirmed as relegated since none of them has scored more than 13 points this season. 

Benítez's controversial arrival at Everton

Benítez arrived at Everton amidst controversy, due to his links with Everton's arch-rivals Liverpool, whom he managed from 2004-10, leading them to the Champions League title in 2005.

And the expectations that had been generated upon his arrival in June 2021 were very high due to his achievements with Liverpool. Benitez arrived to take over from Carlo Ancelotti, who left for Real Madrid.

However, he is now leaving through the back door of a team he never really understood.

Names are already being bandied about to replace Rafa Benítez

Although the announcement of his departure was made just a few hours ago, there are already names of possible candidates to replace him on the coaching bench. 

The names that have been mentioned so far to take his place and try to save Everton have been those of Frank Lampard, Rudi Garcia, Roberto Martinez, Duncan Ferguson, and even Wayne Rooney. 

However, it will be in the next few days when we will know more about this situation that has put Everton fans on alert.