Everton 0-0 Brentford: Match Recap & Instant Reaction | Two points lost as 10 man Bees hang on for point

The final international break of the year was done and the focus for Everton is now on the Premier League as Brentford made the trip north to Goodison Park. The Toffees had won the previous three top-flight matches against Brentford under Sean Dyche. Last season, Everton did the double over the Bees.

Brentford had the best home record in the division this season, with 16 points from 18, but their away record was the second worst, losing all five matches. Pessimists would say this is a sure fire loss, optimists hoped.

After sweating in the buildup to the match, both Jarrad Branthwaite and Dwight McNeil were back in the starting lineup with Mangala making way in the middle of the park. Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti were back in full training but did not feature, while Seamus Coleman, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam were still sidelined.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank was pleased to see Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Ethan Pinnock fit and ready to go. Igor Thiago made his first appearance on the bench after his £30m summer signing.

Chris Kavanaugh got the match underway with Everton kicking towards the Park End. Jordan Pickford made his 83rd successive Premier League for the Blues. Everton started the match on the front foot and controlled the early play. It was a lovely ball from Mykolenko to Ndiaye which allowed him to get the first corner. The resulting corner fell to Gueye and a lovely backheel from Calvert Lewin forced a fine save from Flekken.

Moments later Calvert Lewin was heading the ball goalward but it was narrowly wide. Everton were all over the Bees and Gueye had another chance but his effort was poor. Another breakout from Ndiaye gave Calvert Lewin a through ball but he could not get his feet sorted.

Brentford’s first chance came down the right side and the cross from Pinnock forced a good save from Pickford. It was then a long throw that created issues for the Everton back line but the shot from van den Berg’s shot was well wide.

Brentford started to get their feet in the match but a counter attack from Everton saw McNeil wriggle away but when the ball fell to his right foot his confidence dissipated and it went well wide.

Flekken was tested again when McNeil turned beautifully and sent Calvert Lewin on his way but the Dutch keeper was up to the task. Everton were forcing Brentford to defend but the final touch was lacking too frequently. A nice series of passes from the Blues saw McNeil’s shot deflected wide by Pinnock.

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Jordan Pickford had a quiet start to the match but when Wissa was put in one on one he could not get it past the onrushing keeper. Brentford were pinning the Blues back and a series of corners were pressuring the goal.

A lobbed ball into the box saw van den Berg stretch for the ball but it was only Pickford’s shin that was heavily contacted. VAR looked at it and Chris Kavanaugh was asked to look at the infraction. He paced back onto the pitch looking for Christian Nørgaard and he took out the red card to end the day for the Danish midfielder.

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Thomas Frank was given a yellow for arguing the call but the Bees needed to get to half time which was still at least five minutes away. Everton could smell blood and proceeded to push their numerical advantage. Three minutes of added time was announced by the fourth official as Brentford attempted to slow the game down. Everton piled on the pressure but it ended with a poor shot from Gueye as the whistle was blown.

The second half kicked off and Everton had the man advantage but they would have been reminded by Dyche of how effective Brentford were on the counter attack. Could Everton break them down. Ndiaye had been switched to the middle with McNeil moved to the left.

Everton controlled the early play and McNeil was happy to whip the ball into the middle for Calvert Lewin or Ndiaye to get onto. Gueye finally got a shot on net and forced a save from Flekken. Everton needed to keep the tempo up and they were buzzing around the box when Jesper Lindstrøm had his goal bound shot blocked.

It was very congested on the edge of the box but a scything pass from Ndiaye to the onrushing Mykolenko was hit narrowly over the bar. Moments later, a quick break from Lewis Potter ended with Jenson shooting well over Pickford’s goal.

The Goodison crowd was getting frustrated as they looked for more forward play by the home side. McNeil shot wide as Dyche consulted with his assistants about their next move. Another Everton corner from McNeil was easily handled by Flekken and the groans were audible.

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Brentford made the first change and brought on Tiago and Schade on for Jensen and Damsgaard. Dourcoure and Lindstrom were taken off with Beto and Mangala coming on. Who would have an impact?

Everton were patient in their buildup but they could not finish anything as Brentford stood firm. A nice cross from McNeil saw Beto get his header on net but Flekken was able to watch it all the way into his hands. Ndiaye took on the full back and the Goodison crowd responded.

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It was Beto again on the end of a cross but he could not keep the header down. Ndiaye was again on the move which forced a free kick on the edge of the box. Young lined it up and his free kick had no one on the end of it. It was Beto again who cut across the box to meet a Tarkowski pass but the Portuguese shot well wide.

Brentford made another change and took off Janelt with Yarmoliuk coming on. It was one way traffic but Brentford were not bending. Everton moved the ball from side to side. Some nice hold up play by Beto led to a free kick which was delivered by McNeil and met by Branthwaite but it was well wide.

A scramble in front of Flekken fell to Mykolenko who had his shot blocked. The resulting corner was headed back across the goal and Beto swiveled and shot but it was Pinnock who blocked this one. The final seconds ticked away as the ref blew his whistle to end the match.

Everton MOTM – Iliman Ndiaye – He played on the left, the right and down the middle trying to break down the Brentford back line and he was the only real threat. No goal but work going forward and a few excellent defensive plays.

When Brentford went down to ten men this should have been seen as a golden opportunity to get the three points. Sadly, they could not take advantage and the one point has to be seen as two points lost. Heading into a December fixture list that looks daunting to say the least, those two points might turn out to be important in the long season ahead.

The start today was encouraging against a team that had already scored three first minute goals this season. Fifteen minutes of pressure resulted in no goals but several chances, one of which should have been scored by Calvert Lewin. When Nørgaard was sent off, Everton had recorded 13 shots with only two on target. They had zero big chances in the half and an xG of only 0.42. That pressure continued in the second half with the man advantage but finishing off their chances is just not happening.

The red card for Christian Nørgaard obviously impacted the game and there was certainly objections from Thomas Frank. What has to be said is that the call was the right one. Yes, Nørgaard was going for the ball but he was very late and his studs made contact near Pickford’s knee as the England keeper was quick to point out. Anywhere else on the pitch this would have been a red straight away.

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For all of the chatter about Iliman Ndiaye playing a more central role, Sean Dyche confirmed that “the data” does not support him playing there even though during the international break, Ndiaye was played in the #10 role and ended up scoring twice. Dyche said, “I think Iliman can adapt to the role of a modern ‘number ten’, but this role is not what it used to be; modern playmakers don’t just play off the ball; they also work defensively like everyone else.”

My issue is the unwillingness of Dyche to allow him to grow in that role rather than hiding behind this lame excuse. When Everton gained the man advantage, Dyche did make the move after the sending off but it looked like the time spent on the training pitch might cover set pieces but it certainly doesn’t involve much attacking work.