After a pulsating clash at the City Ground just six days earlier, Everton welcomed a strong Brentford side to Goodison Park on Saturday.  

Coming into the contest, the Bees were actually one of only three sides across Europe’s top five leagues that had avoided defeat in 2023, with their last Premier League loss coming way back in October.  

That impressive run came to a crashing halt in L4 this past weekend, but what were the key factors behind Everton’s success?

Blistering start  

Fired up from the outset, the Blues flew out of the blocks and were handed a dream start when Dwight McNeil smashed home a stunning opener – and eventual winner – after just 35 seconds.  

That strike registered as Everton’s fifth-fastest goal in Premier League history and the earliest winning goal they had scored at Goodison Park.   

Beyond eventually sealing three crucial points, McNeil’s strike acted as a springboard for a dominant first-half display in which Sean Dyche’s men smothered the visitors and went into the break scratching their heads as to how they were only leading by a one-goal margin.   

Everton attempted nine shots in the opening 45 minutes; their most in the first half of a Premier League match this season. They also registered four of those efforts on target, another joint-league high for the campaign.   

Great pressure and aggression without the ball laid the foundations for that initial attacking onslaught.   

In terms of Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA) – a metric used to analyse pressing high up the pitch – Everton recorded an average of seven in that first period. Much lower than their first-half average of 14 for the season so far. A reminder that the lower the average, the more aggressive the press.  

The Blues also finished the half racking up 33 interceptions, in only one other league game this season did they make more before the half-time break. 

Gray spearheading the attack  

Demarai Gray’s first start under Dyche came at Nottingham Forest where he was assigned the role of leading the Everton attack. Although a tough task on paper, he rewarded his manager with a crucial goal from the penalty spot.   

That meant the forward had registered four goal contributions (G3, A1) across his last five league starts coming into Saturday's contest at Goodison Park.   

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin still short of match fitness, he was unsurprisingly selected to spearhead the Everton attack again. Gray may not have added to that goal return in Saturday’s clash, yet, his all-round performance once again played a big part in helping his teammates overcome their opponents.  

The forward is a willing runner, often ready to run the channels or chase balls played in behind, making him a crafty and difficult player to defend against.   

He’ll also drop short when required, too, finding pockets of space in between an opponent's defence and midfield. In these areas, he can receive passes unmarked and bring other teammates into the action.  

Crucially, he’s not scared of a physical battle either. While Gray will often be physically smaller than most defenders he comes up against, he’s illustrated across these past two gameweeks that he won’t be deterred.   

On Saturday, he engaged in 11 defensive duels, nine of which he won.   

You make me feel...  

We can’t praise individual attacking performances without a word for goal hero McNeil.   

The ex-Burnley man arrived from the Clarets in the summer having worked under Dyche for the bulk of his senior career. He initially struggled to find his feet at Goodison Park and spent much of the first half of the campaign on the periphery of the squad.   

However, he's been reborn since his former manager's arrival at the Club with his unrelenting work ethic and direct attacking approach hugely endearing him to the Everton fans.

Post-match on Saturday, the winger admitted: “When Dyche came back in, we had a conversation about how I was playing. He knew what type of player I am and the person I am off the pitch, as well, which is massive. We had a conversation about how to get me playing back to how I used to be.”   

Saturday was more evidence of the 23-year-old getting back to that best and he gave Brentford’s right-back Aaron Hickey an afternoon to forget.   

McNeil was successful in 5/5 attempted dribbles and registered seven crosses on the day. His average of 6.96 crosses per 90 is now the highest across the whole Everton squad.     

While both he and Calvert-Lewin have yet to properly feature as teammates on the pitch, a future alliance between the two is a mouth-watering proposition.   

Stopping dangerman Ivan Toney  

Most of the focus so far has been on Everton’s strong first-half attacking performance. However, the solid work at the other end of the pitch shouldn’t be overlooked. Across their 12-game unbeaten run, Brentford failed to score only once.   

Often a key figure in everything positive they do in the final third is Toney. He’s directly contributed to 45 per cent of Brentford’s total league goals by either scoring or assisting so far this season.   

He posed a big threat to the Everton defence, yet, the duo of Michael Keane and James Tarkowski handled him superbly.    

The two were aggressive in duels with the forward and marshalled him superbly throughout the contest. The above is one example of the Brentford man being tightly marked as he aims to receive a lofted pass.  

Keane pressures him from behind and gets a crucial touch to direct the ball into the path of Idrissa Gana Gueye who sweeps up and restarts an attack for the Blues.  

Although the away side upped the ante in the second half, the Everton defence stood tall and Toney continued to struggle to influence proceedings.

He finished the game having managed just one shot on target and three touches inside the Everton penalty area.