This had been one of the most evenly matched fixtures with Brentford having one more win in the 21 fixtures with 6 draws. When Brentford returned to the Premier League, they beat the Toffees in their first two games against in 2021-22, but Everton are now unbeaten in their last six against the Bees (W3 D3).
Before the match, Everton sat one point and one place above the Bees. Brentford have one of the best home records in the division but their away form had been poor. In their 9 games away, they
had 7 losses and only wins over Wolves and West Ham. Everton at home had recorded 4 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
Team News
After featuring from the bench against Forest, Jack Grealish returned to the Everton starting line-up after overcoming illness. He replaced Merlin Rohl who had impressed. At the back, Michael Keane had won his fitness battle, meaning he came in for Nathan Patterson with Jake O’Brien moving back to right back. Harrison Armstrong who returned from his loan spell at Preston was on the bench.
Brentford made three changes to his starting line-up from the goalless draw against Tottenham. Aaron Hickey, Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard came in as Rico Henry, Jordan Henderson and Keane Lewis-Potter made way.
Match Report
The air raid siren was sounded seven or eight times before Z Cars started to play and the noise around the stadium was electric as the teams walked out behind referee Anthony Taylor. It was a cold afternoon on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey as a tribute was made for those Evertonians who had passed away in 2025.
Brentford started on the front foot but the Everton defenders were up to the early task. Some good work in the corner by O’Brien and good pressing forced a turnover which led to McNeil forcing a very good save from Kelleher. The corner led to a header which was cleared off the line by Thiago.
Grealish and McNeil were getting on the ball which was putting pressure on Brentford. The Bees were attempting the long high ball but were not making the connections. That changed when Tarkowski gave away the ball in a dangerous position which was pounced on by Vanelt who delivered a great cross that was met by Thiago who directed it past Pickford.
Brentford were pushing for a second as Everton struggled to get out of their end. Iroegbunam was losing the battles in the middle of the pitch but he intercepted a pass and drove forward. Unfortunately, he scuffed his shot and it went wide. Seconds later, Thiago was creating more chaos in the Everton backline which required Mykolenko to block the shot to prevent a goal.
Christopher Ajer needed some treatment for a head injury after he clashed with Keane. After the break, Everton pushed forward and Barry forced a save from Kelleher. Yarmoluk was then given a yellow for a foul on Garner. A scramble in the Brentford box needed a final touch but neither Dibling or Keane could get a shot away.
Brentford broke forward on a counter attack but Jake O’Brien defended beautifully to deny Schade. The Evertonians were getting frustrated but got on their feet when Kayode wiped out Grealish and earned a yellow card for his efforts.
Jordan Pickford was then called on to make a great save after Damsgard delivered a ball to the foot of Schade who met the ball but could not beat Pickford. The sloppy play from Everton continued as Tarkowski passed the ball right to the Brentford player which ended with a corner for the Bees. Thiago nearly doubled the lead but Pickford made a super save to deny the striker.
Everton drove forward and some nice work by Grealish saw him cross the ball which Barry tried to head goalward but it ricocheted goalward and forced another brilliant save from Kelleher. That was the last action as the referee blew his whistle and the boos rained down from the stands.
Merlin Rohl and Beto were brought on with Dibling and McNeil sacrificed. Beto immediately was breaking forward and challenging hard but his shot was blocked. The supporters were back in it. The Toffees had changed to a 4-4-2 formation. There was more intensity in the Everton play and they were committing more players forward.
That intensity was snuffed out after Ajer headed home the corner from Damsgaard and seconds after the restart, Michael Keane was nutmegged and Schade laid off the ball to Thiago and the big man slotted home his second of the match. That goal was checked for an offside but it was given. Everton were out of the match.
Everton tried to get back in the match but they just weren’t clicking. Tarkowski needed another good defensive play to deny Thiago’s hat trick. Everton were starting to get more of the ball and when Schade and O’Brien were scuffling, it appeared that O’Brien kicked out at the Brentford player. Thankfully, VAR did not feel it was serious enough.
Kelleher denied Tarkowski with another good save from a long O’Brien throw in. Jack Grealish then delivered a lovely cross into the box which was met by a glancing Beto header which beat Kelleher at the far post. Everton were showing some signs of life.
With 15 minutes to go, Rico Henry was brought on for Hickey. Iroegbunam was then taken off with a great reception given to Harrison Armstrong who entered the match. The rain started to pour down as Everton tried to get another goal as Armstrong slid a ball into Garner but his cross was blocked.
Beto held off a challenge and the cross from Rohl was met by Keane but his header was well wide. The game was put to bed when Thiago had the entire Everton half to run into before he lifted the ball over the onrushing Pickford. Game, set and match.
That had not been registered by Grealish who delivered another great ball into the box which was met by Barry to make it 4-2. Man of the Match Thiago was withdrawn as four minutes of additional time was announced. Thankfully, after Pickford drove a ball into Keane, Taylor blew his whistle and put Everton out of their misery.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Jack Grealish: It was a poor performance overall by the Everton team but Grealish has to be pleased with his two assists. In both instances, Grealish drew two defenders and then delivered pinpoint crosses that were met by Beto and then Barry. He has been missing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as his outlet but today he made his own space to put some life into the lacklustre Everton display.
Instant Reaction
Just like the Newcastle and Tottenham home matches, today Everton were well beaten. They were outrun, outplayed and lost most of the battles all over the pitch. When we did get the ball into the Bees final third there was a significant lack of depth in the attack. It was only the two quality crosses from Grealish that kept the score from being embarrassing. Another quick turnaround as the Blues face Wolves at Hill Dickinson on Wednesday. We must be better. Evertonians want to see vim and vigor, today that was lacking.
Not to second guess Moyes, but…..I was not surprised when Moyes brought Michael Keane back into the squad right away considering Nathan Patterson’s lack of football this season. Moyes likes to keep things consistent but I think I would have been tempted to put Rohl at right back and give Keane a longer break to ensure he was fully fit. When O’Brien has been put in his natural position at centre back, like he was in midweek, he has performed admirably. Keane was at fault for the first goal, leaving Thiago to slot the ball home past Pickford and then he was nutmegged in the buildup to the third goal. He only won 1 of his 5 challenges, had no blocks and was dribbled past on three occasions. Bring back O’Brien, please.
Everton had lost their first league game of the year in seven of the last eight seasons. Let’s hope the Blues turn up on Wednesday.
(Note that FotMob corrected the xG from the first half – Barry’s diving header in the first half was actually hit goalwards by a Brentford defender and didn’t count as an Everton shot)
