Brentford’s previously dismal away form defies comprehension on this evidence. Keith Andrews’s team had the good fortune to encounter Everton’s worst performance of the season, admittedly, but with the rampant Igor Thiago capping a dominant display with a hat-trick the visitors moved up to seventh in the Premier League in style at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Only Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane have scored more goals across Europe’s top five divisions than Thiago this season. Only bottom club Wolves have lost more away games in the Premier League in 2025-26 than Brentford. But an abysmal display by Everton provided the ideal tonic for a visiting team in search of confidence.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was flat before kick-off and David Moyes’s side mirrored the mood. The hosts started brightly, in fairness. Dwight McNeil forced the former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher into a good early save from a Jack Grealish layoff and, from the resulting McNeil corner, James Tarkowski’s goalbound header was cleared on the line by Thiago.
That was in the fourth minute. Everton did not threaten again until the fifth minute of time added on at the end of the first half for a head injury to Kristoffer Ajer. Absences undoubtedly played a part in the lack of creativity from the home team, although did not stop Everton from winning at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, but the contributions from Tyler Dibling and McNeil were nonexistent.
