At 22:00 Beijing time on January 2, the 21st round of the Premier League, Lewin did not score a penalty, Gordon scored 2 goals in a row to save the host, and Everton was defeated by Brighton 3-2 at home.
The 61-year-old Benitez led the team to another record of shame in team history, which was the first time in Everton's history that they were defeated at home by Brighton, after facing Brighton seven times in 42 years, with an unbeaten record of 5 wins and 2 draws.
This 2-3 allowed Everton to swallow their eighth defeat in the last 12 league games. They have won just one of their last 12 rounds, which is a 2-1 home win against Arsenal in the 15th round. While they are still eight points ahead of Burnley in the relegation zone and there is no relegation pressure yet, they have slipped to 15th, which is completely out of line with their strength. Benitez started with a stunning four-round unbeaten run in the team when he first took over Everton, but is now gradually stepping off the altar.
32-year-old Chinese Super League foreign player Rondon made a 14-minute substitute appearance in this match and failed to score. He has scored just one goal in 12 premier league games this season, and that was the only goal he scored for Everton when he lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace in the 16th round.
After taking all three points from Everton, Brighton have scored seven points with two wins and one draw in their last three rounds. They overtook Wolves and Leicester City to move up to Eighth place in the Premier League, narrowing the gap with Manchester United to four points.