Thiago, 24, scored a hat-trick as the Bees claimed just their third away victory of the Premier League season on Sunday (04.01.26), moving Andrews’ side into the top seven with a dominant display at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Speaking to Sky Sports about how he was feeling after the game, the Brentford manager said: “Pride. It’s not an easy place to come even though it’s our first time here.
“Everton away in general is a very difficult fixture, with the manager they have, coaching staff they have, level of ability in the playing area.
“It takes real courage to come here and play the way we did.”
Brentford were on the front foot from the opening moments, with Thiago first denying James Tarkowski, 33, on the goal line before putting the visitors ahead on 11 minutes from Vitaly Janelt’s, 27, cross.
The Bees could have been further ahead at the break, with Jordan Pickford, 31, denying both Thiago and Kevin Schade, 24, as Everton were booed off at half-time.
Andrews said: “We could have been more than 1-0 up at half-time. We got into a groove and if we were more clinical, we could have taken our opportunities.
“We wanted to start the second half in a positive fashion. We knew there would be a reaction from their bench.”
That reaction never came, as Nathan Collins, 24, headed in from a corner five minutes after the restart before Thiago capitalised on chaos in the box just 94 seconds later to make it 3-0.
Everton briefly rallied through Beto, 27, but Thiago sealed his hat-trick by chipping Pickford after racing clear.
Andrews was keen to stress that Thiago’s value extends far beyond his goals.
He said: “Thiago’s been huge. He gives us a platform to play off. He’s selfless in his game.
“The goals get the headlines but Schade scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth a couple of games ago and Thiago was just as impressive as him in terms of allowing players to come into the game and beyond him.”
Everton pulled another goal back late on through Thierno Barry, 23, but the contest was long decided, with Brentford’s fluid attacking play overwhelming a Toffees side short on confidence.
Andrews added: “The grit, personality and character we showed as a club was really impressive.
“That relationship up front is constantly building. He’s shown he can score goals, which is what strikers want to do, but he’s been even more impressive without the goals.”
