Everton seemed to be escaping London with their first win of their Premier League campaign, after the Toffees went ahead midway through the first half. Chelsea-linked Anthony Gordon produced a cool finish to give the visitors the lead, against the run of play.
Everton were holding on from then on and it seemed as if they may just complete a smash-and-grab performance, to get their season kick-started. However, Vitaliy Janelt's late equaliser was the least that Brentford deserved.
The Bees' 19 attempts at goal will mean that both teams may end up feeling disappointed to not pick up all three points, following the final whistle in the Saturday afternoon game.
Everton's winless start to this Premier League season continues. For only the third time since the league's formation, Everton have failed to win any of their opening four fixtures. They will remain in danger of dropping into the relegation zone, following the conclusion of Sunday's fixtures.
For Brentford, a slight disappointment that they have been unable to kick on from their 4-0 win against Manchester United. They have now picked up just one point from their two subsequent fixtures.
Story of the match
The host's only change from their thriller at Craven Cottage was a forced one - Pontus Jansson was ruled out, due to what Thomas Frank described as a minor foot injury. The centre back was replaced by Mathias Jørgensen - who was set to start just his second Premier League game of 2022.
Frank Lampard made two changes from the team which scrambled to pick up their first points of the season against Nottingham Forest last weekend - Amadou Onana & Dwight McNeil replaced Tom Davies & Solomon Rondon respectively.
It was the visitors who had most of the early possession at the Gtech Community Stadium. However, Brentford were the team in ascendancy - creating plenty of chances early on.
The Bees could have opened the scoring in as early as the second minute of the game. Aaron Hickey's effort was pushed behind by Jordan Pickford for a corner.
Just a few minutes later, Bryan Mbeumo had one of the best (& many) chances of the game - a long ball from the back allowed Rico Henry the time and space to put a perfect, low cross across the box towards Mbeumo. The ball was set up perfectly for him to slot into the far corner first time, but the Frenchmen put it just wide.
In the 19th minute, Mathias Jensen struck the post of Pickford's goal. A Brentford opener seemed like just a matter of time, as they had all the major chances of the game, even while only having 37% of the ball at the time.
However, Everton sprung up from nowhere to sting the Bees. Conor Coady's long pass picked out Anthony Gordon, the forward's brilliant run beyond Jørgensen put him in on goal. Gordon showed great composure to take his time and cooly slot the ball past David Raya, into the far corner with his left foot.
Following the opener, Brentford's wave of chances continued to pile up. In the 33rd minute, poor defending from Nathan Patterson allowed Rico Henry to put a cross into the box - met gleefully by Ivan Toney's header, which struck the far post. Yoanne Wissa had an even better opportunity at the follow-up, but his rebound from guilt-edge range was blazed over the bar.
Further chances for Mbeumo - whose curling effort was deflected for a corner & Wissa before the break also failed to provide Brentford with a goal.
After a thrilling first half, both teams had nine attempts at goal - Brentford's being significantly more threatening than the Toffees'. Yet, it was the visitors who headed into the break in an unexpected lead.
Brentford looked to waste no time in the second half in search of an equaliser. It took them just seven minutes to strike the woodwork for the third time in the match. Christian Nørgaard's overhead kick floated onto the crossbar, as Everton continued to ride their luck.
However, the visitors did create some opportunities of their own. After they won the ball back in their opponent's half in the 56th minute, Gordon produced a well-struck volley, which was only parried by Raya into the path of Vitaliy Mykolenko - who's attempt was just about smothered by the recovering keeper. Gray also squandered an opportunity to extend Everton's lead and score in his third consecutive game, later on in the half.
Brentford's quest for a goal continued - Mbeumo had another whipped shot, which had Pickford scrambling, narrowly going wide of the far corner in the 64th minute. The England keeper was called into action, as he had to deny Vitaliy Janelt's header, with a good, low save just minutes later.
Everton's luck runs out
Following a denied penalty appeal for the hosts, after the ball struck Alex Iwobi's arm in the 76th minute, it may have seemed that the prospects of an equaliser were beginning to fade away.
However, in the 84th minute, Brentford finally managed to breach the away goal. This time, Pickford was unable to stop Janelt's header, after a Brentford corner was flicked on by substitute Keane Lewis-Potter from the near post onto the far - where the German had acres of space to comfortably volley the ball into the net.
Brentford continued their pressure, as they aimed for a late winner. However, the visitors managed to hold out for a very hard-earned point.
Player of the match - Anthony Gordon
Even though Everton were under pressure for a lot of the game, when they did find themselves up the pitch, Gordon was a vital part of their play.
Gordon did brilliantly to create the opening goal thanks to his smart movement in behind Brentford's defensive line. His well-struck volley in the second half produced a chance for Mykolenko on the rebound and the young winger (playing more centrally today) always looked like a threat.
Perhaps a performance like this goes some way towards warranting interest shown in Gordon from elsewhere in the Premier League.