Hitting the road has been problematic this season for Brentford, and their away-day blues perhaps went some way to explaining their sluggish start.
The visitors were fortunate to get to the 10-minute mark on level terms after their early resistance was almost broken from a corner, as former Brentford man James Trakowski saw his header cleared off the line by Thiago.
The pair were again involved when Tarkowski’s loose pass was pounced upon by Vitaly Janelt, allowing him to pick out the unmarked Thiago, who steered into the bottom corner.
Everton’s attacking offerings were few and far between in the first half, and their shortcomings were perhaps best evidenced by Tim Iroegbunam, who scuffed a tame effort wide of the target from a presentable position.
Even the return of Jack Grealish did little to boost Everton’s attacking output, and they were fortunate to go into half-time just one goal behind when Kevin Schade and Thiago each forced Jordan Pickford into smart reflex stops shortly before the break, sparing the Toffees’ blushes but not a chorus of boos as the HT whistle sounded.
David Moyes reacted by making a double change at the break, introducing Beto and Merlin Rohl. But before those two could even have a chance to affect the game, the Toffees found themselves two goals behind when Nathan Collins climbed highest in the area to power home Janelt’s inch-perfect corner.
Hill Dickinson Stadium soon started to empty just moments later when Keith Andrews’ men added a third when Everton were caught napping on the edge of their own box, allowing Thiago to dink over Pickford and end the game as a contest.
Everton did manage to give themselves some hope of a revival when Beto headed home Grealish’s wicked in-swinging delivery in the 66th minute, and to their credit, they pushed Brentford hard in the closing stages as they desperately sought a route back into the game.
However, the Toffees had simply left themselves with too much to do, ultimately extending their winless run to four matches.
Things are much more positive for Brentford, who leapfrogged their hosts and moved into the top seven after rounding off a memorable day in the dying moments when Thiago dinked home his hat-trick goal, even if a late Thierno Barry strike did serve as a blot on their afternoon.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Igor Thiago (Brentford)