Darwin Nunez proved Liverpool's late hero as his stoppage-time double fired the Premier League leaders to a 2-0 victory at Brentford.
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Arne Slot's side seemed destined to make it three league matches without a win in 2025, having seen Dominik Szoboszlai denied by the woodwork and Cody Gakpo miss a glorious chance in the first half.
Mohamed Salah then went close with just minutes remaining at the Gtech Community Stadium, but substitute Nunez made no mistake with his late brace in the dying stages.
The Uruguayan striker first converted from Trent Alexander-Arnold's smart cutback pass in the 91st minute, before hammering home from Harvey Elliott's offload just two minutes later.
The win moved Liverpool seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal, before the Gunners hosted Aston Villa later on Saturday, while Brentford remain 11th after suffering late heartbreak.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
21 | +30 | 50 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
22 | +22 | 44 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
21 | +10 | 41 |
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
22 | +12 | 38 |
How the match unfolded
Brentford almost made a rapid start just five minutes in. The unmarked Mikkel Damsgaard could not make the required contact, however, after Yoane Wissa’s slight deflection on Mads Roerslev's dangerous delivery.
Szoboszlai rattled the crossbar when driving a 20-yard attempt towards the top-left corner, while Gakpo dragged a brilliant opportunity wide from Salah's delightful right-sided offload, six minutes before the break.
Gakpo turned creator for Salah after the interval, though the Egyptian saw his placed attempt blocked by Keane Lewis-Potter before Nathan Collins headed clear on the line.
Salah went close when his 89th-minute curler from the edge of the D narrowly evaded Mark Flekken's bottom-right corner, though Slot's side would soon be saved by Nunez.
Alexander-Arnold's driving run teed up the first of two late goals when his pull-back from the right found Nunez, who converted from close range. The Uruguayan doubled the dose soon after, when he combined with Elliott and thumped a finish past Flekken.
Battling Brentford undone late on
Brentford rarely looked like a side that had managed just one win across their previous eight matches in all competitions – in fact, Thomas Frank's side shaded the opening stages on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo was the chief tormentor of Liverpool, forcing an early caution for Kostas Tsimikas just minutes after his inside run freed Roerslev, whose delightful delivery should have ended with Damsgaard tapping home at the back post.
Brentford star Mbeumo again had the beating of Tsimikas, twice testing the hands of Alisson in the opening 20 minutes, before the forward's wide free-kick was glanced over by Christian Norgaard.
Another Mbeumo free-kick with 20 minutes remaining had Alisson scrambling to parry the cross, before the Liverpool goalkeeper denied the Cameroonian's tame strike and a routine header in the closing stages.
Yet, for all of Brentford's promise in attack from Mbeumo and Wissa, they were undone late on by Nunez's deadly finishing as the league leaders finally found the quality that has them in control of the title race.
Having managed to come back in the closing stages in the midweek draw with Manchester City, this late defeat will leave Frank desperate for a result when his side travel to Crystal Palace in eight days' time.
Liverpool overcome stuttering start to 2025
Liverpool remain the frontrunners in the title race but Slot may have been scratching his head after another performance lacked the decisive edge for large parts of the match.
Gakpo headed straight at Flekken early on, from an inviting cross by Luis Diaz, who made a mess of his header from Ibrahima Konate's lob shortly after.
Flekken tipped another deflected effort from Ryan Gravenberch wide before Szoboszlai saw one low strike saved and another from outside the area crash off the woodwork.
A rapid counter-attack kick-started by Szoboszlai should have allowed Gakpo to convert Salah's well-timed pass into the box, though the Dutchman wasted a left-footed opening by touching wide of the onrushing Flekken.
Diaz's fizzing shot was then pushed away once more in the second half by Flekken - who survived penalty appeals after competing for the loose ball.
It looked like a frustrating outing when Nunez headed another chance wide, and Alexander-Arnold fired a late long-ranger off target before Salah's delicate finish just missed the bottom corner after cutting inside.
Yet Nunez found his shooting boots, scoring in the league for the first time since November, to get Liverpool out of trouble. Despite their late show, Slot will still be demanding improvements when his side host struggling Ipswich Town at Anfield in their next Premier League fixture.
Club reports
Brentford report | Liverpool report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "I thought we played a really good game against the best team in the world right now. We just played City and Arsenal and now Liverpool, in a short amount of time. For me, they're a level above the other two teams. 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. They're huge favourites to win it [the title]."
Arne Slot: "During the season, you're hoping for these moments. In many moments, we could have scored a late winner - against United, 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 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."
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Key facts
Since his first Premier League campaign in 2022/23, only Jhon Duran (8) has scored more goals as a substitute than Nunez (7), while the Liverpool striker has more goal involvements as a substitute than any other player (11).
After winning seven of their first eight home Premier League matches of the season (D1), Brentford have failed to win any of their last four at their ground in the competition (D1 L3).
Liverpool have recorded 50 points from their 21 league matches so far this season (W15 D5 L1); only in 2019/20 (18 games) and 2018/19 (19 games) have they reached 50+ points in fewer matches in a Premier League campaign.
Liverpool’s 37 shots against Brentford is their joint-most in a Premier League match on record (since 2003/04), matching their total against Everton in April 2016. The Reds failed to score with any of their first 35 shots in today’s game, before netting with their final two through Nunez.
