Everton came into this one riding the glow of a fantastic performance at Nottingham Forest, but the truth is they simply were not there today. The tempo was missing, the bite was missing, and the game quickly developed into one of those afternoons where everything feels half a second late. Second to too many balls, second in too many duels, Everton handed Brentford exactly what they wanted: space, time, and permission to be ruthless.
Brentford did not need an invitation twice. Their opener arrived on 11 minutes, and it felt like the moment the match tilted and never really tilted back. Igor Thiago struck first and, from that point on, Brentford looked the side with the clearer mind and the sharper instincts. Everton huffed and puffed without ever truly landing a punch of substance, and the frustration inside the stadium grew because the contrast with recent Everton performances was so stark.
The decisive damage came straight after the break. On 50 minutes, Nathan Collins made it 2-0, a goal that landed like a hammer because Everton were already searching for control. Then, on 51 minutes, Thiago scored again. Two goals in quick succession, Everton rocked, and Brentford suddenly had daylight between themselves and a home side that looked short of answers.
Everton’s one genuine plus point came on 66 minutes when Beto pulled one back. It mattered, because Beto has not been scoring for a long time, and Everton have needed his confidence to return. For a brief spell, you could sense the crowd hoping that one goal might spark a reaction. But Brentford’s response was the response of a team playing with clarity and conviction rather than nerves. They stayed compact when they needed to, aggressive when it mattered, and they continued to carry a cutting edge on the break.
Thiago completed his hat-trick late on 88 minutes, putting the result beyond doubt and underlining just how clinical Brentford were with the chances they created. Thierno Barry’s header in stoppage time made the scoreline 4-2, and that was another small positive for Everton: Barry also got on the scoresheet after a long wait. But the bigger picture remained uncomfortable. Everton’s late goals did not change the feeling that Brentford had controlled the match’s meaning and tempo from start to finish.
For Everton, the lingering question is the baffling one. How can a side look so organised and so committed at the City Ground, then look so short of sharpness here? Tim Iroegbunam has been one of the key figures in Everton’s recent improvement, but this time the midfield lacked its usual edge and authority, and Brentford repeatedly found ways to turn pressure into mistakes. Everton did not lose because of one isolated error or one unlucky incident. They lost because Brentford were more urgent, more precise, and far more clinical.
So where does David Moyes go from here?
First, he has to make this performance a line in the sand, not the start of a wobble. Everton have shown, very recently, that they can compete when the intensity is right. The task now is to restore that intensity, because the Premier League does not tolerate mood swings.
Moyes will demand a response that looks like Everton again: front-foot in the duel, switched on for second balls, and disciplined enough to avoid the kind of collapse that turned a difficult afternoon into a damaging defeat.
