Ivan Toney’s first-half penalty earned Brentford a comfortable, if slender, win over Everton as the Toffees’ miserable form dipped to a fresh low.
Rafa Benitez is now seven games without a win as Everton laboured to create chances against a Brentford side that wasn’t tested nearly as much as they would have expected.
Toney calmly slotted home midway through the opening half after the VAR had rightly instructed referee Darren England to look at the pitch-side monitor following Andros Townsend’s clumsy kick into Frank Onyeka’s face.
Brentford didn’t exactly offer much more of an attacking threat but they didn’t need to, as Everton proved toothless up front once again.
After a woeful first half, Salomon Rondon had a shot blocked and Alex Iwobi fired at Alvaro Fernandez in the second.
Brentford defended deep and were wasteful in possession. But despite the waves of blue attacks the Merseysiders laboured to record any chances of note.
Brentford vs Everton player ratings
Brentford
Alvaro Fernandez – 6
Charlie Goode – 7
Ethan Pinnock – 6
Pontus Jansson – 8
Frank Onyeka – 7
Rico Henry – 8
Christian Nørgaard – 7
Sergi Canos – 7
Vitaly Janelt – 7
Ivan Toney – 8
Bryan Mbeumo – 6
Substitutes:
Shandon Baptiste – 6
Mads Roerslev – 7
Yoane Wissa – 6
Everton
Jordan Pickford – 6
Michael Keane – 6
Lucas Digne – 6
Ben Godfrey – 6
Seamus Coleman – 6
Allan – 5
Andros Townsend – 4
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 6
Anthony Gordon – 5
Alex Iwobi – 6
Salomon Rondon – 5
Substitues:
Demarai Gray – 7
Analysis: Should play have been stopped?
“This is a reward for bravery,” that’s how Sky Sports co-commentator Don Goodman described the incident that saw Onyeka take a boot to the face midway through the first half, and lead to Toney’s converted penalty.
Everton had failed to clear their lines when the ball looped out to the edge of the penalty area, where Onyeka stooped in and headed the ball before Townsend could connect. Instead of booting the ball away, the Everton winger caught Onyeka neatly on the chin.
How referee England didn’t stop the play was anyone’s guess – and in an instant Everton hit on the counter attack and came close to opening the scoring themselves.
Once England realised Onyeka was still down he stopped play. Only then did the VAR check back to the earlier incident and notify the referee to head over to the screen – after which the referee pointed to the spot.
Questions may well be raised over how England managed the incident. Why he didn’t blow for a penalty to begin with may be down to the fact he thought Onyeka had dipped his head into the incident.
But even then, surely the game should have been stopped for a head injury.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cXo5U6
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