Everton fans react to Demarai Gray display at Aston Villa

By Jordan Harris

A number of Everton fans have taken to Twitter to laud Demarai Gray after the attacker proved to be a shining light on a disappointing day at Aston Villa.

For the first time in his managerial career, Rafa Benitez has tasted defeat at Villa Park. It was also, of course, his first loss as Toffees boss.

Villa ran riot in the second-half, scoring three times in nine minutes to snatch the three points.

In truth, it does appear that the fans were unhappy with almost every player on show for the visitors in the Midlands.

But many have insisted that Gray was their best player in the defeat. It has been an amazing start to life on Merseyside for the 25-year-old.

He had scored in each of his previous three Premier League appearances.

And he came agonisingly close to putting Everton in front at 0-0. He unfortunately was unable to get enough curl on his attempt to find the bottom corner.

A number of players have come in for criticism on social media following the loss, with few emerging with any sort of credit.

However, several have lauded Gray and the impact he has made since arriving in the summer.

‘Nobody else really came close’: Everton fans praise Gray after Villa loss

It was always an intriguing piece of business from Everton. He arrived for an incredibly low fee. But he struggled during the latter stages of his time with Leicester. And he was only with Bayer Leverkusen for a brief period.

But plenty of fans are now suspecting that the Toffees produced a masterstroke in the market…