Soccer

Darwin Nunez nets late double as leaders Liverpool snatch victory at Brentford

A day of away wins as Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Fulham also secure wins on the road

Liverpool's Darwin Nunez celebrates after scoring his second goal against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez celebrates after scoring his second goal against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
Sat Jan 18 2025 - 17:42
Premier League: Brentford 0 Liverpool 2 (Nunez 90+1, 90+3)

Darwin Nunez scored twice in stoppage-time as Premier League leaders Liverpool left it late to claim a 2-0 victory at Brentford.

Nunez came off the bench to give Liverpool the lead with a close-range finish before he rounded off a swift counter attack two minutes later to put the seal on a hard-fought victory.

Arne Slot’s side were facing a third game without a win, after draws with Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, but the Uruguayan’s late salvo returned the Reds to winning ways.

Brentford showed how dangerous they could be in transition early on, with Bryan Mbeumo twice causing Kostas Tsimikas trouble.

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The wide-man got past his marker and his first cross of the match was almost touched in by Yoane Wissa from six yards out before Mbeumo forced the left-back into giving away an early yellow card.

Ryan Gravenberch’s effort from range was tipped wide by Bees keeper Mark Flekken but the hosts responded by showing their final-third threat.

Liverpool's Luis Diaz shoots under pressure from Brentford's Sepp van den Berg. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA
Liverpool's Luis Diaz shoots under pressure from Brentford's Sepp van den Berg. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Christian Norgaard, who headed the equaliser in Brentford’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Tuesday, continued to display his aerial prowess when he met Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick and forced Alisson into action as Thomas Frank’s men came close to an opener.

Dominik Szoboszlai used his strong frame to hold off a marker before turning and lacing a strike across goal, which dipped and bounced off the crossbar in the 35th minute.

After the break, the hosts’ resilience at the back forced the first signs of cracks in Liverpool’s patience as errors started to become more common in their search for a breakthrough.

Slot turned to the bench with 10 minutes to play and the push for a winner opened up even more space for Brentford to grab a goal of their own.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot from the edge of the area was just wide of the bottom left-hand corner and Wissa’s shot from inside the box fell favourably into the grasp of Alisson as the match was becoming end-to-end.

Nunez, who had been hardly involved after coming on, surged into the area in added-time after Alexander-Arnold picked up the ball on the right.

His smart movement paid dividends as he finished off the right-back’s delivery with a first-time smashed finish past Flekken.

The striker was not done there. After Brentford committed bodies forward to snatch a leveller, Liverpool countered with Nunez providing the finishing touch once more from inside the area to delight the travelling fans and earn three precious points for the title favourites.

In the other games of the day, Bournemouth took a 4-1 win away at Newcastle, Justin Kluivert bagging a hat-trick for the visitors. There were also wins on the road for Crystal Palace, beating West Ham 2-0 in London, and Fulham, who saw off Leicester City 2-0.