An even game, shared points and a collective dream of Europe that remains alive after this draw. Igor Thiago’s double seemed to have given Brentford a victory that would have moved them up to sixth, only for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to lash home an injury-time equaliser and ensure Everton departed with something to show for their efforts.
It was little more than they deserved in a match that ebbed and flowed without either side edging further than a neck in front.
Can Everton roll back the years and recall that old European football feeling? Might Brentford reach uncharted territory? Neither ambition died on Saturday.
These are extraordinary times for Brentford, a club whose nascent top-flight tenure barely makes a mark on their overall 136-year history. A healthy dose of those who watched their team edge closer to a European debut will have been long accustomed to life in the third tier, where their team spent many decades before their climb up the pyramid.
That their side now contains an England captain in Jordan Henderson, and a Brazil striker in Igor Thiago, must be peculiar to comprehend. If the lattercontinues in this manner they could end up with the leading goalscorer in the Premier League this season too.
