Everton and Brentford faced off this weekend at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, and it was a classic.
The match was chock-full of goals as Brentford completely dismantled Everton with a dominant 4-2 win after a poor defensive performance from the Everton backline.
Igor Thiago, who was a constant menace to Everton’s defensive backline, scored an impressive hat-trick to down the Toffees.
In one of the most notable moments of the game, Igor Thiago, after scoring the second goal, which was initially disallowed, celebrated in a controversial fashion that has got everyone talking.
Mikkel Damsgaard threaded through a stunning pass to Kevin Schade, who evaded pressure from Jake O’Brien and laid off the ball to Igor Thiago, who calmly slotted the ball home.
Initially, Damsgaard looked offside, and VAR was called upon to give the verdict. By the time VAR came up with the decision, the players had already taken their positions at the center circle for the restart.
Thiago, who was standing near Beto near the halfway line, grabbed him and celebrated by hugging Everton’s striker and laughing in his face before he was pushed away by Beto.
Gary Weaver, who was doing commentary for Sky Sports, said –
“And Igor Thiago trying to celebrate with Beto, which won’t go down too well.”
Meanwhile, ex-Everton midfielder Leon Osman, who was doing commentary beside him, added –
“No, not exactly, [neither] David Moyes or Beto would have wanted to see that.”
This celebration had many fans speculating the reason behind this strange celebration, whether Igor Thiago and Beto are close friends, perhaps they grew up in the same city, maybe they spent time together during their youth career, or any other reason.
However, it is none of those.
Thiago was born in Gama, Brazil, while Beto was born in Lisbon, Portugal. The Brazilian played his youth football at Gremio Ocidental, while Beto spent his early years at Uniao Tires and Benfica’s youth academy. Neither have they ever crossed paths at a senior level, so no dressing room connection either.
The real reason for the celebration is much simpler than that – Igor Thiago was just playing mind games and being a shithouse.
Throughout the game, Thiago was tasked with provoking and riling up the Everton players. It was a deliberate strategy from Brentford boss Keith Andrews as he wanted to make things uncomfortable for Evertonian defenders, especially given their colossal display the previous week at Nottingham Forest.
And it worked wonders as Brentford’s relentless pressing brought about a mistake for the first goal as Tarkovski made a key error unprovoked, which was immediately punished by Igor Thiago.
Throughout the game, Thiago was a nuisance for the Everton backline, and he was rewarded for his hard work with a hat-trick and the Player of the Match award.
The win takes Everton 12th in the table with 28 points, just 2 points behind 7th-placed Brentford.
