Darwin Nunez rose from the bench to hit a stunning injury-time brace as Liverpool earned a vital 2-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford held out for more than 90 minutes thanks to a resolute defensive display, but the Reds, who rained almost 40 shots down on Mark Flekken’s goal, were eventually rewarded for their persistence.
Arne Slot was overjoyed to bank a precious victory in his side’s Premier League title bid after dropping points in the two games prior to kick-off.
Here, Express Sport takes you through how each Liverpool player performed…
Liverpool player ratings vs Brentford (4-2-3-1)
Alisson: 6
Tested a few times late on but not in any serious way as Brentford failed to make the most of their chances.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8
Put wicked deliveries into the box and dribbled out from the back to start counter-attacks. Keane Lewis-Potter and Yehor Yarmolyuk didn’t have much joy against him and he was the driving force behind Nunez’s first injury-time goal.
Ibrahima Konate: 9
Brick wall at the back when Brentford pushed forward. His recovery pace was hugely effective. Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa did not get much change out of the Frenchman. Kept a clean sheet and Arne Slot really couldn’t ask for much more.
Virgil van Dijk: 6
Good pace and strength to thwart Mbeumo early on but outshone by his centre-back partner.
Kostas Tsimikas: 5 (booked) (Robertson, 65)
Put himself under pressure by picking up a yellow after seven minutes. Mbeumo had a lot of joy against him, particularly in the first half. Did salvage his performance slightly with some dangerous set-piece deliveries.
Ryan Gravenberch: 7
Tested Flekken with an accurate shot from outside the box, and played a clever ball to set up a chance for Luis Diaz, whose shot was saved.
Alexis Mac Allister: 7 (Jones, 80)
Another solid display from the heartbeat of Liverpool’s team. Incisive ball round the corner created the chance for Gravenberch to shoot from range.
Mohamed Salah: 6
Often only needs one opening to decide games. At the Gtech Community Stadium it came in the 89th minute, but he curled off target. In general it was left to Salah’s team-mates to grab the contest by the scruff of the neck, and Nunez came up trumps.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 8 (booked) (Elliott, 80)
Really grew into the game. Clattered the bar with a powerful strike from distance. Eventually began pulling the strings from the No. 10 role and tracked all the way back to stop Mbeumo in the second half.
Cody Gakpo: 7 (Chiesa, 87)
The Dutchman looked dangerous throughout. Skinned Mads Roerslev which led to a free-kick in a dangerous position and a yellow card for his opponent.
Luis Diaz: 5 (Nunez, 65)
Bright start but didn’t offer enough through the middle on the whole. Made a mess of a close-range header in the first half and couldn’t convert with his right foot in the second after a clever ball from Gravenberch.
SUBS
Andrew Robertson: 7
His deliveries from the left asked questions of Brentford. A great cross for fellow sub Nunez was headed just wide. Then a corner onto the head of Mac Allister was nodded into the side-netting.
Darwin Nunez: 9 (booked)
Tried to impose himself, headed Robertson’s cross just wide shortly after coming on but got his reward with a stunning injury-time brace. The first was a simple tap-in from Alexander-Arnold’s cross, and his second was lashed home after Brentford committed bodies forward.
Curtis Jones: N/A
A late addition.
Harvey Elliott: N/A
A late addition.
Federico Chiesa: N/A
A late addition.