26/02/2025 33comments  |  Jump to last
Brentford 1 - 1 Everton

For the second consecutive time in the Premier League, the result leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for Everton. After allowing Manchester United to level the score despite being two goals ahead last weekend, the Toffees were guilty of squandering golden opportunities against Brentford tonight.

In-form striker Beto had a woeful day in the office. He failed to get the better of Mark Flekken in goal despite finding himself in three clear-cut chances. It was on the back of his two missed opportunities in the first half that the hosts scored against the run of play after Yoane Wissa rose high after Bryan Mbuemo hit the woodwork.

Charly Alcaraz came close to equalising in the second half but it was Jake O’Brien who met Vitaliy Mykolenko’s cross to head home his first Premier League goal for the club. Beto could’ve clinched the three points at the death but was once again denied by Flekken.

Everton, now unbeaten in the last seven league matches, move 15 points clear of the drop zone thanks to the point secured here. The disappointment of the misses put aside, the lads can be proud of the way they bounced back to secure the point against a well-oiled team away from home. Time to rest up before the next league assignment!

Here are the player ratings from the 1-1 draw at Brentford:

Jordan Pickford - 7

There wasn’t a whole lot that Jordan Pickford could’ve done to prevent the Brentford goal from a long throw-in. The defending left him exposed and having committed to Mbuemo’s effort, he wasn’t able to react to Wissa’s follow-up header. Made himself big in the closing stages of the game.

Jake O’Brien - 8

Scored his first league goal for the club with a strong diving header at the far post. Played an overall tidy game on his 100th Premier League appearance but was a bit slow to react to Wissa’s run to meet the ball for the opener.

James Tarkowski - 7

The Everton captain, booed by the home crowd throughout the night, shut out anything that came in his vicinity. Was aerially dominant for most of Brentford’s long balls and won all of his aerial duels and also made five headed clearances.

Jarrad Branthwaite - 7

Everton had a lot of defending to do in this game and not only did Branthwaite have another spotless game, he was also instrumental in building from the back. Had a 100% passing accuracy in the game and didn’t get dribbled past by an opposition player even once.

Vitaliy Mykolenko - 8

Made a lot of forward runs and whipped in the wonderful ball across the box that led to the equaliser. Showed a positive attitude on the left flank but crosses still need to be worked upon.

Idrissa Gana Gueye - 6

Had a decent game, especially while making recoveries and retrieving possession. Lacked a bit of composure when on the ball. Was taken off in the 75th minute.

James Garner - 6

Kept busy throughout the game but like his engine room partner, lacked composure while chasing the game. Made a couple of wild lashings at goal.

Jesper Lindstrom - 5

Provided an energetic outlet on the right flank for the Toffees but that’s all there could be said about him. Lacked the skill and application to take on or pin his fullback. Subbed off in the 75th minute.

Carlos Alcaraz - 8

Was handed a start in the absence of Abdoulaye Doucoure who’s expecting a child with his partner. Showed aggression and industry and generally made things happen on the pitch. Almost played Lindstrom through on goal, fed Beto with a 1v1 off a clean header and was also involved in the buildup for the equaliser. On another night, he could’ve had a goal or an assist here.

Jack Harrison - 6

Saw a lot of movement on his flank especially in the second half but couldn’t make it count. Crossing accuracy was off the mark as most of his balls kept landing in the hands of the opposition keeper. 

Beto - 5

Missed three huge chances to score against Brentford. Was played through on goal after Ethan Pinnock slipped but bizarrely tried to go around Mark Flekken in the direction from which the defender was coming and ended up playing it into his hands. Got played through by Alcaraz clear on goal again only to shoot close to the keeper. In the closing stages of the match, had the chance to bury the ball into the back of the net or even square it to Alcaraz but was once again read by Flekken.

Subs

Ashley Young (subbed on for Lindstrom) - 6 

Positive display off the bench and tried to push upwards in search of a winner.

Tim Iroegbunam (subbed on for Idrissa Gueye) -

Held the ball well but didn’t have the time to impose himself in the game.

 

Reader Comments (33)

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Paul Kernot
1 Posted 26/02/2025 at 23:36:47
Unbeaten in 7 and pretty much scoring in every game.

How embarrassed do you feel, Mr "I've taken this squad as far as I can for my £5M"?

Jay Harris
2 Posted 26/02/2025 at 23:44:07
Anjishnu,

I have the opposite view of you on the ratings where I thought we were strong in midfield with Garner MotM and weak on the flanks with poor service to Beto and particularly bad crosses and weak defending.

Shaun McGough
3 Posted 26/02/2025 at 23:51:38
How about an opposing fans chant rating of all tine, singing to Tarkowski “You should have stayed at a big club”! 🤣
Rob Dolby
4 Posted 26/02/2025 at 23:59:46
Some harsh scores there for Beto, Garner and Gana. I thought our 2 centre-mids looked very good tonight. Alcaraz might take the eye going forward but his off-the-ball positional play needs a lot of work.

Beto causes trouble and makes a lot of his own chances. If he scores one of his chances, he is a MotM contender.

Pickford – 6: He didn't have much to do.
O'Brien – 8: My MotM; he handled Lewis-Potter quite well and got his goal.
Mykolenko – 7: Me handled Mbeumo well and got the assist.
Tarkowski and Branthwaite – 7 not much troubled them besides letting the ball bounce for their goal.
Lindstrøm and Harrison – 6: They looked tidy enough but never threatening; both don't do enough for me.
Alcaraz – 7: Decent on the ball and wants to impact games.
Gana and Garner – 8: Controlled the midfield for large parts of the game.
Beto – 7: Makes his own chances, on another day could have been the hero.

Bill Hawker
5 Posted 27/02/2025 at 00:03:14
Mykolenko made his 100th Premier League appearance for Everton, not O'Brien.
Colin Glassar
6 Posted 27/02/2025 at 00:16:20
Gana and Garner were excellent in midfield.

What are you on about, Roy?

Mike Gaynes
7 Posted 27/02/2025 at 00:17:31
Agreed, Rob, on Beto. 1-on-1s are hard-earned opportunities requiring strength, pace and timing. They are not sitters, and failing to score is not "woeful" by any means. You don't downgrade a striker for a keeper's fine performance.

Speculation about squaring the third one to Alcaraz is likewise off target. Watch the replay and you see the defender has virtually closed off that lane.

Brian Wilkinson
8 Posted 27/02/2025 at 00:34:47
Goalkeeper did well on the one-on-ones against Beto, who never gave up or went into hiding; I would have given Beto a higher score.

Any teams at the top stay down for first chance and try and get their player sent off, fair play to Beto for getting back up again, probably saved the defender a red card.

As for the best person on the pitch, my vote goes to the ref, who let the game flow, always tried to play the advantage, one of the best refs we have had for a while.

Martin Mason
9 Posted 27/02/2025 at 01:02:02
A very good result probably reflective on where we're at now. It dampens unrealistic expectations and shows where we can improve clearly.
Bob Parrington
10 Posted 27/02/2025 at 06:49:37
Just because Beto had 3 golden opportunities saved by Feckin' Flekken, is no good reason to score him as low as 5. He put the work in, opened up the opportunities, but did not score.

Okay, we wanted and needed him to score. It would be a lousy, useless coach to knock him down in this situation.

Beto – 8 points IMO.

Ian Bennett
11 Posted 27/02/2025 at 07:02:08
A good battling away point against a decent side on their own patch, and with a squad still down on the numbers.

Weathered the early storm, but then coughed up a goal on half-time, when we desperately needed to see it through.

3 one-on-ones missed by Beto through the middle perhaps give a clearer idea what he's about after recent heroics. Great movement, but didn't shift the ball once, for the keeper to foil when the pressure was on.

A deserved point with a great header near the end, really pleasing to see O'Brien get on the score sheet. He (like others) needs to add goals to his size and power.

Elsewhere, Liverpool beat Newcastle at home for about the billionth time, city won at Spurs and Arsenal bottling it at Forest. Murmurings that Moyes to blame for all of that, and he's sticking 6.4% on the Ofgem price cap as well. Never liked that fella...

Mike Oates
12 Posted 27/02/2025 at 07:14:54
Garner and Gueye both terrific after slow start and Beto worked his socks off and just came up against a good keeper.

But we were the far better team overall and what a job Moyes is doing

Robert Tressell
13 Posted 27/02/2025 at 07:20:13
If we'd have appointed Amorim in January and he'd have got us on this run, we'd be hailing him as a genius.

Moyes has exceeded all expectations so far and this was a very good point away – and a game we should really have won as it unfolded.

I think the game also exposed some of the strengths and weaknesses of the squad – and the limitations of many of the players.

Lindstrom is a curious one. Worth persisting with (and we don't really have other options right now) but needs to show much more if we're to take up the option to buy.

Jim Bennings
14 Posted 27/02/2025 at 07:34:33
Very solid performance without being dynamic.

These are the types of performances however that we weren't seeing under Dyche this season.

We had draws but we didn't go forward enough and try to win enough.

The fact that every game now we are creating loads of good chances per week, it feels actually refreshing now to watch it and I for one am just glad that I'm no longer bored rigid watching Everton.

Christy Ring
15 Posted 27/02/2025 at 07:41:11
Garner and Gueye deserved an 8, just wondering if DCL had missed the 3 glorious chances as Beto, would the comments be as nice?

The first two chances one one-on-one were straight down the middle, the first chance he tried to round the keeper, 2nd was a good save, 3rd was a tough angle.

Neil Cremin
16 Posted 27/02/2025 at 08:05:01
Christy
The answers is no. However up until last night I was of the opinion that Beto was a better 1 on 1 finisher that’s DCL. Last night has parked that. What I will say is that his speed off the mark and seeing the option for a through pass are incredible which creates the chances. For the third chance, he had to make up 10m on the Brentford defender which he did over 40m. The pass to Alcaraz was not on and he tried to chip the keeper on this occasion.
Let’s not start a Beto bashing campaign.
Joe McMahon
17 Posted 27/02/2025 at 08:45:43
The training team neef ti work with Beto, although we already know he's no Henry, Aguero or even Lukaku. The striker situation has to be addressed in the summer, we need 2 capable goalscorers. Love Betos attitude but he had a stinker last night.

Speaking of the summer, I hope we don't sign Lindstrom.

Ray Roche
18 Posted 27/02/2025 at 08:50:56
Brian Wilkinson @8
Great observation Brian, the referee was virtually invisible, which is how it should be. No contentious decisions that I can think of.
Rob Dolby
19 Posted 27/02/2025 at 08:54:55
Christy, DCL hasn't looked anywhere near as driven as Beto so when he misses a 1v1 his natural demeanour makes him look not arsed.

Beto is the direct opposite, he looked devastated after those misses.

All strikers miss but it's the ratio of scoring that sets them apart. Beto or DCL aren't going to turn into harry kane, they are average players.

Jim Bennings
20 Posted 27/02/2025 at 09:07:41
I have a feeling that the summer will bring better quality of signings here.

Even the most blinkered with loyalty Dyche fan can't deny or argue that David Moyes is a far greater judge of player and I expect with a better kitty this summer we will see at least one or two really canny signings.

I expect a striker will be signed, especially with DCL, Broja both leaving, and I expect it will be an upgrade on both of those mention.

As for Beto, let's be honest, if he's scores three more goals this season then there is 10 goals for him in total, I wouldn't have expected that from him based on what I'd previously witnessed, so if he hits double figures, great.

Jack Convery
21 Posted 27/02/2025 at 09:17:49
A decent enough point; however, it should have been all 3. On another night, Beto scores a hat-trick.

I blame myself as I tipped him to score twice in a 2-1 win. I'll keep my thoughts to myself in future!

Alcaraz is a player and he and Beto look a real pertnership.

Dave Abrahams
22 Posted 27/02/2025 at 09:32:35
Jesus, Amishnju where did you get those ratings from also some on here.

O’Brien gets a lot of praise for his goal and that’s fair enough but it is also the reason for his marks he had a very poor game.

Garner was excellent and Gana wasn’t far behind him and I know we equalised after he came off and Mykolenko finally got a decent centre in which got him his 7.

The result mattered the most and I thought a draw was a fair result if you take the missed chances out but I won’t decry Beto because his usual 100 % effort was still there.

Charles Brewer
23 Posted 27/02/2025 at 09:38:27
After matches, one of my favourite follow ups is looking through the player ratings. The majority of these only give the “local” team (the Exeter Galactic Intelligencer and Oslo Pickled Herring Daily News giving major splashes to Salah (pen 97)'s fashion tips, but I enjoy agreeing and disagreeing with the pundits.

I'd quite like to see a ToffeeWeb reader-based poll (the site owners contributing their own), maybe including both a match and season average rating, high/low etc.

Dave Abrahams
24 Posted 27/02/2025 at 10:01:17
Charles (23) You can get an Evertonian based poll on Grandoldteam——-O’Brien ran away with the honour last night, just had to be about that goal, no other reason he could have got it.
Charles Brewer
25 Posted 27/02/2025 at 10:46:24
Thanks Dave. That's a site I've not visited (actually, I loathe the song it's named after, it's like some terrible cheesy charmless George Formby knockoff).

Actually, I thought Beto was Everton's best player last night, he terrorized the Brentford defence and with a slightly worse goalkeeper (whom I thought really was the Man of the Match, if Pickford had been as effective in a game for us we'd never shut up about it) and a bit more luck would have had a hat trick. While it's obvious that actually scoring goals is the real test of a striker, getting into a whole series of one-on-ones is an enormous improvement.

Jerome Shields
26 Posted 27/02/2025 at 10:48:32
I think Beto was up against a Goal Keeper that was well prepared for him.It took some really good saves and the Brentford was on the ball covering should Beto pass.

Beto will learn from this game and so will Moyes.

The consensus seems to be that Lindstrom and Harrison could have done better, but again Brentford were set up to spoil any wing play. Midfield played well.Though long range shooting not even on target was going nowhere.

Dave Abrahams
27 Posted 27/02/2025 at 10:54:09
Charles (25), Yes I think we all have different reasons for picking our best player in a game, a terrific save, a winning goal or even one great pass will influence us in our choice.

I thought James Garner was our best player because he was always looking for the ball and used it well, got in plenty of tackles and started a lot of our moves, Gana wasn’t far behind him, in fact Gana has played well all season for Dyche and Moyes, again in my opinion.

Danny O'Neill
28 Posted 27/02/2025 at 19:23:25
Yes, Brian @8, the ref managed the game well.

A couple of VAR reviews, but he handled it well.

Nigel Scowen
30 Posted 27/02/2025 at 19:32:25
Anjishnu

A 6 for James Garner, I don’t think so, MOTM for me.

Paul Ferry
31 Posted 27/02/2025 at 20:05:52
I find it rather funny that #7 and others have turned Beto's three “chances” into saves rather than misses. Beto comes out smelling of roses, because, as #7 puts it in some decent swerve acrobatics, “ a keeper's fine performance”. It's a one-on-one, but when all is said and done it's only about one.

I'm puzzled by more than a few of Anjishnu's player ratings, including his 5 for Beto that should have been higher. However, despite #7's timely reminder that “1-on-1s are hard-earned opportunities requiring strength, pace and timing” (who would have thought that? ), Beto completely fluffed his first one-on-one with some sort of what looked like a woeful effort to erm go round the keeper and run straight into a defender. As the commentator said, it was “mis control”. It was Beto's woeful ball control that allowed any sort of save and he had also had time to shoot or chip before we got to that point.

The second one-on-one ended up with Beto shooting it straight at the keeper, although, needless to say, in #7's reckoning the ball was not hit straight at the keeper it was a ”fine” save by the keeper.

The third effort is also, of course, like any other one-on-one, a tale of two people (like making a baby #7!). Beto did no wrong in not passing to Alcaraz, there were defenders in between the two of them.

Like many others, I am absolutely chuffed to have my scepticism around Beto disappearing into thin air. I'm made up for him and hope that his is one of the first names on the team sheet for each one of our remaining games. He will notch a dozen or so goals and that's impressive after the hard-boiled eggs barely used him.

It was the Alastair Campbell spin on the one-on-one where a miss is not a miss and a save is always a save that caught my eye.

(And I didn't even mention DCL)

Mark Andrews
32 Posted 28/02/2025 at 11:15:03
Anjishnu, you've got your full backs mixed up!
John Atkinson
33 Posted 01/03/2025 at 16:47:29
Looks like Beto might be suffering with DCL syndrome
Paul Ferry
34 Posted 01/03/2025 at 19:16:05
How many times have we read on here in the last month or so something along the lines of: just put the ball in front of Beto for him to run onto?

Well, how did that work out on Wednesday? I remain a big Beto backer, but that first effort in particular is sad to watch. It reminds us of how badly we need a striker over the summer. And Beto did not exactly distinguish himself in two passages of play in their box before his first piss poor miss or, I'm sorry, should that be "fine save"?


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