Everton’s Premier League survival bid suffered a setback against Brentford.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring on 10 minutes when turned the ball home after Richarlison had hooked Anthony Gordon’s free kick goalward.

The Blues found themselves reduced to 10 men later in the first half after Jarrad Branthwaite received a straight red card for bringing down Ivan Toney.

Frank Lampard’s side were level-pegged shortly before the interval through an own goal as Seamus Coleman converted Yoane Wissa’s tight-angled shot.

Richarlison restored the hosts’ lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time when he was fouled by both Mads Bech Sorensen and Kristoffer Ajer.

But Wissa equalised for Brentford in the 63rd minute when he met Chrstian Eriksen’s corner before Rico Henry scored again less than two minutes later.

Matters worsened in the closing stages as Salomon Rondon was also sent off for a reckless touchline lunge on Henry within four minutes of coming on.

The result means Everton still need two points from their games with Crystal Palace and Arsenal to be assured of their top-flight status for another season.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Blues still getting a raw deal from refs

Refereeing inconsistencies have become the bane of Frank Lampard’s life.

No matter what approach the Everton manager takes, his side continue to fall afoul of contentious officiating decisions that ultimately work against them.

Once more, Lampard spent post-match dissecting the issues which had seen the Blues needlessly wronged during Sunday’s particularly chaotic first half.

Kristoffer Ajer dragging Richarlison by the shirt in the visitors’ penalty area went unpunished just moments before Jarrad Branthwaite’s sending off.

Equally bewildering was Michael Oliver’s decision not award a second yellow card to Mads Bech Sorensen for his foul on Richarlison at a later penalty call.

No matter how many telephone apologies the PGMOL make, it will hardly compensate for the alarming double standards which have hampered Everton.

If they do succumb to relegation, that will rightly be a huge bone of contention.

Brainless Rondon sums up his season

Salomon Rondon may have avoided the record books for the fastest red card in Premier League history but his still went down as one of its more brainless.

The Venezuelan has often typified everything that was wrong with Everton this season, both under Rafael Benitez and in Lampard’s ensuing struggle.

His latest outing followed that particular theme with a lunge on Rico Henry which left the circa 39,000 onlookers inside Goodison all audibly wincing.

Whether a well-intentioned tackle gone wrong or a simple slip, as Thomas Frank later diagnosed, the fact Rondon was behind it came as little surprise.

More confusing, however, was the 32-year-old’s decision to enthusiastically applaud the home crowd as he jogged off the pitch after just four minutes.

Rondon will never go down as an Everton cult hero but what is likely to be his final outing in a royal blue shirt summed up why fans could never take to him.

Goodison faces fight to the finish

A home win over Brentford heralded the start of Lampard’s Everton tenure and another would have bookended their Premier League survival bid.

Given what has transpired in the intervening months, a repeat of February’s comfortable FA Cup fourth round against the Bees was never likely to happen.

But they now head into their remaining fixtures still needing to pick up two points to ensure their 68-year stretch in English football’s top flight lives on.

Individual errors, shortcomings at set pieces and scarcely believable incidents, both self-inflicted and otherwise, encapsulated a truly wretched campaign.

Thursday’s final home match of the season against Crystal Palace has now become the most important date in Goodison Park’s history since May 1998.

Back then, Everton narrowly preserved their Premier League status after producing the bare minimum and results elsewhere conspiring in their favour.

With next weekend’s finale at Arsenal appearing unwinnable, anything except maximum points in several days’ time leaves their fate at the mercy of others.

Lampard’s side simply cannot afford another slip-up.