Alasdair Gold has claimed that Brazilian striker Richarlison did not look happy despite the 5-2 win over Burnley.
Heung-min Son was given the nod to start up front with Solomon and Kulusevski on either flanks which meant Richarlison had to be benched.
Having scored against Fulham in the League cup game mid-week, the former Everton man was perhaps expecting to start against Burnley but the manager went with Son upfront instead..
And Son did not disappoint as he scored a hat-trick to cap off a man of the match performance.
Gold believes this is why Richarlison looked visibly upset on the bench as not only did he expect to start but saw his rival for the position bag a hat-trick.
Speaking about the £60m man, Gold said:
“Richarlison’s probably the one player in that little group that was applauding the fans that didn’t look best pleased.
“It could have been very unfortunate, it could have just been the photos and the video clips I’ve seen just caught him in moments where he wasn’t smiling and there were other moments where he was smiling and applauding fans.
“But what I would say about Richarlison is he wears his heart on his sleeve.
“He is a guy that wears his emotions there on his face. And I have no doubt that Richarlison was entirely, thoroughly fed up at the fact that he’d scored a goal and was not starting the next game.
“And also will have watched one of his teammates yet also rivals for his spot through the centre go out there and score a hat-trick and be absolutely brilliant in the role.
“So, he would not have been particularly delighted but he will still get lots of football.”
TBH Says:
Richarlison might have to get used to becoming a squad player specially with the likes of Son and Solomon performing the way they did against the Clarets.
The signing of Brennan Johnson does not help his cause either as he now has further competition for the starting role.
His poor form has not helped either. He was terrible last season scoring only one league goal and while his performances may have slightly improved under Ange, he still has not done enough to justify why he should be in the starting XI.
