The visitors were made to work right to the very last minute for their victory, with the much-maligned striker delivering at the death
Liverpool scored twice in second-half stoppage time to beat Brentford 2-0 and keep up their push for the Premier League title.
Thomas Frank's Bees were resilient for 90 minutes but couldn't hold out having conceded 37 shots in total, as the Reds came away from west London with all three points.
Arne Slot's side had already dropped points at Nottingham Forest this week, and needed a better result here before Arsenal's match with Aston Villa kicked off later in the day. Fortunately for the visitors, they were rewarded for their endeavours with a grandstand finish.
The hosts ought to have been ahead inside five minutes, with Mads Roerslev nipping to the byline and flashing a cross right through the six-yard box, but neither Yoane Wissa or Mikkel Damsgaard could sort their feet out in time to tap home.
Liverpool took a while to settle into the game and had to wait until the 35th minute to go particularly close to an opener, as Dominik Szoboszlai thundered a strike from distance off the crossbar. Soon after, Cody Gakpo failed to make good of a free shot towards the back post after being found by Mohamed Salah, only for his weak effort to be easily collected and cleared.
After the break, the Reds wanted a penalty after Mark Flekken spilled a shot from Luis Diaz and appeared to clip the Colombian when scrambling for the loose ball, only for replays to clearly show there wasn't nearly enough contact to give a spot-kick.
Slot's side piled on the pressure in search of a winning goal and came close to that in the final 10 minutes when Trent Alexander-Arnold lashed a strike narrowly past the far post, while Virgil van Dijk was in the right place at the right time to slice over a Kevin Schade cross down the other end.
But into added time at the end of the 90 minutes, Liverpool grabbed that all-important goal. In an opening eerily similar to Brentford's first chance of the day, Alexander-Arnold found space to nip to the edge of the pitch and he cut back for Darwin Nunez to convert.
Liverpool and Nunez weren't done their, either. The Bees pushed everyone forward in search of an equaliser, allowing Harvey Elliott to tee up the Uruguayan to thump home.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from the Gtech Community Stadium…
AFPGoalkeeper & Defence
Alisson (6/10):
Didn't have too much to do although saved well on a few occasions in the second half when called upon.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/10):
Defended with the diligence and desire he should really display every week. Tucked into midfield when Liverpool were dominating the ball. Assisted Nunez's go-ahead goal at the death.
Ibrahima Konate (6/10):
Won a number of headers, largely due to the sheer size advantage he boasted over Brentford's attackers, though was dragged into some scrappy duels when stepping higher up the pitch.
Virgil van Dijk (7/10):
Barked orders at his team-mates from the off and was far more composed than Konate when it came to dealing with the Bees' pesky forwards.
Kostas Tsimikas (5/10):
Offered another chance to stake a claim for a starting spot, but again didn't make good on such an opportunity. Replaced by Robertson midway through the second half.
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Ryan Gravenberch (6/10):
Would occasionally break into speed to beat the Brentford press singlehandedly, such was the visitors' overarching lack of dynamism and explosiveness at times. Didn't set the world alight aside from that.
Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):
Likewise showed an occasional flurry of flair without truly grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. Withdrawn for Jones for the final stages.
Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):
Rattled the crossbar from around 25 yards in the first half, which proved to be the Hungarian's most notable contribution to the game. Came off for Elliott.
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Mohamed Salah (7/10):
Created chances by the bucket-load and how he must have wished he could have somehow been on the end of them himself. Lacked that spark when running to goal himself.
Luis Diaz (4/10):
Could never quite sort his feet out in the final third. Spurned a number of golden chances and was eventually hooked for Nunez.
Cody Gakpo (5/10):
The entire afternoon would have been different had he simply converted when one-on-one with compatriot Flekken. Nowhere near as sharp or energised from that point onwards. Taken off for Chiesa.
AFPSubs & Manager
Andy Robertson (6/10):
On for Tsimikas and immediately provided more attacking threat.
Darwin Nunez (9/10):
Replaced Diaz. Taunted by the home fans for being 'just a sh*t Andy Carroll'. Appeared to take that personally and hit back with two huge goals in Liverpool's season.
Curtis Jones (6/10):
Brought on for the closing stages in place of Mac Allister.
Harvey Elliott (8/10):
Subbed on for Szoboszlai, and this changed the game. Found pockets of space between the lines and had a huge say in both goals.
Federico Chiesa (N/A):
Came on for Gakpo for the last few minutes.
Arne Slot (8/10):
Liverpool had to be extremely patient to breach Brentford's defence but they were rewarded come the end of the afternoon.
