Dwight McNeil's winner with just 35 seconds on the clock lifted Everton out of the relegation zone as the Toffees ended Brentford's unbeaten run with a 1-0 win at Goodison Park.
The ex-Burnley winger found the corner in the opening minute before a typical Sean Dyche defensive masterclass, as the Bees lost for the first time in 13 Premier League games.
Less than an hour after watching Merseyside counterparts Liverpool go down to Bournemouth, Everton's elation reached new heights in just 35 seconds, as Abdoulaye Doucoure worked the ball out to McNeil on the left, and the ex-Burnley man found the far corner with panache.
Unable to trouble Jordan Pickford in the opening exchanges, Brentford were afforded two huge let-offs approaching the quarter-hour mark, as Michael Keane headed wide with the goal at his mercy in the 17th minute before Amadou Onana fired wide four minutes later, having failed to adjust quickly enough from David Raya's punch straight out to him.
A few half-chances for Ivan Toney to claw the Bees back into the game did not come off, and Raya was called into action twice in quick succession to deny McNeil and Alex Iwobi as Everton continued to create plenty of openings.
One such opening would seemingly lead to a deserved second in the 42nd minute through Demarai Gray, as Pickford's free kick was flicked on by James Tarkowski, and an attempted clearance from Ethan Pinnock hit Gray before bouncing over the line.
However, a VAR review showed that the ball had struck Gray's arm, and Dyche's side would enter the half-time break with just the one-goal lead despite their sustained commitment to attacking.
That one-goal lead was very nearly wiped out with just two minutes gone in the second half, but Pickford made a sublime save from Rico Henry's close-range header at the back post as Brentford immediately threatened an equaliser.
Everton remained relatively comfortable as a tensely-fought second half progressed, but goalscorer would soon turn goal-saver for the Toffees following a 72nd-minute corner, as McNeil saved Pickford's bacon with a clearance off the line from Toney after the England number one had missed the ball completely.
With his defenders, midfielders and attackers all failing to cut the mustard, Raya took it upon himself to try to extend Brentford's unbeaten run in the fourth minute of injury time, but the Spanish goalkeeper sent a free header wide from a corner.
Everton have been bumped up four places into 15th ahead of next Saturday's trip to Chelsea, while Brentford remain ninth ahead of Wednesday's trip to Southampton.
Ben Knapton
