Late Nunez double powers Liverpool to victory
Darwin Nunez produced a stoppage-time double as the Liverpool substitute powered the Premier League leader to a 2-0 victory away at Brentford.
Arne Slot's side seemed destined to suffer a third league game without victory to start 2025, having seen Dominik Szoboszlai rattle the crossbar and Cody Gakpo waste a glorious chance in the first half.
Mohamed Salah then went close with just minutes remaining at Gtech Community Stadium, whipping narrowly wide of Mark Flekken's bottom-right corner.
However, substitute Nunez made no mistake with his late brace in the dying stages, the first of which coming when converting Trent Alexander-Arnold's well-worked cutback pass in the 91st minute.
The Uruguayan striker combined with Harvey Elliott just two minutes later, hammering home from close range to seal a much-needed win for Liverpool, which still have a game in hand on Arsenal to come next month anad was helped by the Gunners' draw with Aston Villa.
A dramatic triumph moved Liverpool seven points clear of second-place Arsenal, which drew 2-2 against Villa to cut the gap to six, while Brentford remains 11th.
Arne Slot was delighted Liverpool's pressure finally paid off, and particularly with the impact from Nunez, who the Dutchman had publicly backed to silence his critics.
"He's always having a lot of impact when he comes in," Slot said. "Brings energy and power.
"Most of our games are the last half hour in control around 18 yards, and that's where he's at his best. The first hour is often open but the last 30 minutes, dominant. Then to have someone like Darwin is nice to have.
"I don't only look at results. We created a lot. But now it's a win, so I don't have to say look at our performance. I was very pleased with our performance.
"Brentford made it a fight. They have good players and a good game plan. It was a nice game to watch, like every time Liverpool are on the pitch.
"During the season you're hoping for these moments. Many moments - we could have scored a late winner against [Manchester] United, [Nottingham] Forest, Fulham. Today it worked. We managed to score in the last few seconds.
"We were close to not getting what we deserved. The amount of chances we created was like on Tuesday [Wednesday AEDT] against Forest – a lot. We were close to going off without a win. That combined with a late winner is what we were most happy about. And it was a significant game."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, meanwhile, remained upbeat about his team's performance against the league leader.
"I thought we played a really good game against the best team in the world right now," he said. "We did a lot of things right. We defended very well. We gave the opportunities away, but not too big.
"We probably lacked the final cutting edge. We had some good chances and opportunities that never became opportunities because of the last pass or touch. Their centre-backs were exceptionally good.
"We always try to win the game from minute one despite who's coming here. We knew they'd have the ball a bit more, but we believed we could win the game.
"Yes. I think we just played City and Arsenal and now Liverpool, in a short amount of time. For me, they're a level above the two teams. They're complete. Their work ethic, the way they track back, are good indicators.
"They're so good all over the pitch. Such a threat going forward. These are really, really good. It's the best team in the Premier League and the world. They're huge favourites to win it [the title]."
