Brentford boss Andrews lauds hat-trick hero Thiago after Everton victory

Brentford boss Keith Andrews described Igor Thiago’s performance in their 4-2 win over Everton as “sensational” after the Brazilian’s hat-trick led the Bees to victory.

After opening the scoring in the 11th minute, Thiago netted twice more after Nathan Collins’ header to help Brentford to victory at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.

Everton had got themselves back into the game through Beto’s 66th-minute strike, and after Thiago completed his treble, Thierno Barry scored another for the hosts.

But the day belonged to Thiago, who became the third different Brentford player to net a hat-trick in the competition for the club after Kevin Schade and Ivan Toney (both two).

Indeed, six of Thiago’s 14 Premier League goals this season have put Brentford 1-0 up, with only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (10) scoring more openers than him.

In fact, only Bryan Mbeumo (nine in 2024-25) and Toney (eight in 2022-23) have scored more opening goals for the Bees in a single Premier League season than Thiago.

“Strikers live and breathe [goals] and get a lot of confidence from it,” Andrews said.

“He’s played well without scoring recently. His performance today was sensational. He deserves the accolades.”

Love it, Keith! pic.twitter.com/BD4Am5KQ42

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 4, 2026

It was a result that continued Brentford’s upward trajectory of late, with Andrews’ side now up to seventh in the Premier League and four points adrift of the top four.

Brentford also beat Everton for the first time since May 2022, ending a run of six straight matches without a victory against the Toffees across all competitions (D3 L3).

And with a clash against fellow high-flyers Sunderland their next top-flight assignment, Andrews believes a win in that game will further ignite their European ambitions.

“It’s about consistency,” Andrews added. “I feel the team and squad and club have taken good steps forward in the last few weeks. They have earned that, to play in this way.

“We are very respectful of each game. We just keep working hard. A real appetite to improve all the time and push each other and see where we go.”

For Everton, meanwhile, they have now lost back-to-back matches at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the very first time.

Overall, the Toffees have now lost four of their last six at the stadium, after going unbeaten across their first five in all competitions (W3 D2).

And David Moyes had no complaints about the result, having seen his team create just one big chance and register an expected goals (xG) total of 0.85 from their 14 shots.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t play better,” Moyes said. “We were just a bit short in some areas.

“We were disappointing defensively today and not as strong as we have been. No complaints, Brentford deserved the victory.”