Darwin Nunez silenced his critics with a stunning last-gasp double off the bench to lead Liverpool to a dramatic 2-0 win over Brentford.
The oft-maligned Uruguay striker scored twice in succession in stoppage time at the Gtech Community Stadium to spark away pandemonium after an entertaining, end-to-end clash that looked headed for a goalless draw .
Nunez’s crucial late intervention managed to avoid a third successive Premier League stalemate for the leaders, who instead moved seven points clear at the summit before their nearest title rivals Arsenal hosted Aston Villa during the late kickoff Saturday.
Both managers made just one change after facing Manchester City and Nottingham Forest respectively in midweek, with Brentford boss Thomas Frank replacing Mathias Jensen with Yehor Yarmoliuk in midfield and his Liverpool counterpart, Arne Slot, opting for Kostas Tsimikas over Andy Robertson at left-back, with Luis Diaz. returned to form after illness and Nunez is back on the bench after suspension while Diogo Jota has joined Joe Gomez on the sidelines.
It was a typically open start to the match between two high-scoring teams, with Mikkel Damsgaard narrowly missing a close-range opportunity for Brentford after Mads Roerslev’s dangerous low cross took a vital deflection.
Bryan Mbeumo also fired at Alisson, while Bees captain Christian Norgaard headed wide from a free-kick.
Most of the pressure in the first half came from Liverpool, who quickly piled up the corners and hit the crossbar through Dominik Szoboszlai, who was their main attacking threat as he and his midfield colleague midfielder Ryan Gravenberch both tested Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal.
Liverpool’s best chance before the break came after a blistering counter-attack as Mohamed Salah connected with Cody Gakpo, who failed to spot the bottom corner as the ball bounced off his heel.
Szoboszlai continued to pose a threat early in the second half, but Liverpool continued to lack the finishing ball and killer instinct as they were thwarted repeatedly by their own former defender, Sepp van den Berg, who made several key blocks and clearances, including one on denial. Diaz.
Nunez replaced Diaz with 25 minutes remaining as Slot turned to his bench for the first time and quickly found himself in the thick of the action, heading a header wide.
Brentford continued to produce block after block as Alexis Mac Allister saw a few efforts pushed away, then headed into the side netting after losing his marker at a corner.
The match opened up before a thrilling final 15 minutes, with Alisson saving from both Mbeumo and Brentford substitute Kevin Schade after hitting an important punch away from Norgaard at his near post.
Alisson again saved from Mbeumo – a rumored Liverpool transfer target – and later Yoane Wissa before Trent Alexander-Arnold fired an effort agonizingly wide as both teams continued to threaten a winning goal.
Yarmoliuk and Salah both dropped the ball as time passed, with the Egyptian narrowly going wide of the right post.
Then came the stoppage-time heroics of Nunez, who first picked off an Alexander-Arnold pass before completing a ruthless counter-attack two minutes later to seal the most spectacular of late victories.