Everton vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
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An early goal from Dwight McNeil earned Everton a precious 1-0 win over Brentford at Goodison Park that dragged Sean Dyche’s struggling side out of the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.
McNeil put Everton in front with a superb left-footed finish in the opening minute after an assist by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The home side spurned several chances to extend their lead in the first half, with Michael Keane, Amadou Onana and Demarai Gray all guilty of poor finishing, while Brentford keeper David Raya saved well from Alex Iwobi following a corner.
Gray, who shot straight at Raya when put clean through by Idrissa Gueye just after the half-hour mark, bundled home minutes before halftime but the video assistant referee ruled the goal out for handball.
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford denied Rico Henry with an excellent save minutes into the second half in a match in which Everton’s back line did brilliantly to deny Brentford’s prolific target man Ivan Toney the time and space to operate.
Brentford pushed hard for an equaliser and dominated possession after the break, coming agonisingly close in injury time when Raya went up for a corner in the dying minutes but headed narrowly wide.
Victory moved Everton up four places to 15th in the table on 25 points, while Brentford stayed ninth.
Everton vs Brentford
It's a big three points for Everton as it sees them move out of the relegation zone and up the 15th. Next up for them is a trip to Chelsea. Brentford's 12-match unbeaten run is now over, and they miss the chance to close the gap to the European places. They travel to Southampton in midweek.
Everton vs Brentford
Everton hold on to beat Brentford 1-0. They got off to a dream start, scoring the only goal of the game with just 35 seconds on the clock when McNeil rifled it in from just inside the box. They thought they had a second just before the break when Pinnock's clearance hit Gray before bouncing over the line, but VAR judged it to have brushed his arm on the way in. Brentford threw everything they had at Everton in the second half, with Pickford making a big save to deny Henry and Pinnock seeing one cleared off the line, but they couldn't find a way through.
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