Unsurprisingly at full-time, it was Darwin Nunez who was first on the scene. As those in the away end celebrated Liverpool extending their Premier League advantage to seven points, it was the match-winner who was quickest off the mark.

The Reds fans who were tucked away in the corner of the Gtech Community Stadium responded in kind, breaking out into song for the man whose stoppage-time contributions secured what could yet be a huge victory in the grander scheme of the season.

The beaming smile from two-goal Nunez laid bare just how much the backing meant to him too. The No.9 was sporting a grin the size of west London as those who had made the journey Brentford defiantly claimed that they will in fact not be moved in the battle for this Premier League title.

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And just how important might this hard-fought win be later down the line after seeing Arsenal reeled in by Aston Villa to help Liverpool re-establish that six-point buffer at the summit once more? The Gunners were 2-0 up in the evening kick-off but collapsed to see the Reds end the week with the same advantage they started with.

This game was always going to be instructive to just how much of a problem a stuttering start to 2025 has been to the overall aims for Arne Slot and Co. And having recorded back to back draws at home to Manchester United and at Nottingham Forest - either side of a Carabao Cup first-leg semi-final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur - Liverpool were facing up to one or two murmurs that they were just starting to run out of steam.

The discontent was only growing as they struggled to create any gilt-edged chances against a Bees side who, alongside Arsenal, had prior to kick-off taken the most points at home this term. For so long, the Reds huffed and puffed to little avail but full credit to Slot, whose clever use of substitutions helped steer the points the way of the visitors.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win here was a triumph of persistence. The winning goals came via shots 36 and 37 and while goalkeeper Mark Flekken was not forced to make anything extraordinary for any of those, there can be ultimately few complaints from the hosts that they ended this one pointless. It’s the most shots an away side has had in recorded history, which dates back 22 years, and no other player in the Premier League’s 33 years has scored more winning goals in stoppage time than Nunez’s three now either.

The match-winning brace will inevitably hog the limelight but full credit to Harvey Elliott too, whose contribution to this vital victory should not be overlooked. The midfielder has barely featured under Slot but he had a hand in the opening goal by cutely supplying a marauding Trent Alexander-Arnold to deliver a low cross into Nunez's path before Elliott then turned direct provider by playing in his fellow sub to wrap it up a razor-sharp counter-attack.

Slot had spoken glowingly about Nunez on Friday, insisting the Reds simply had to make better use of the former Benfica striker's qualities, saying: "The way teams defend our No.9 is something you have to give credit to the other teams for. It’s never: ‘Here Darwin, you can score’.”

Alexander-Arnold's cross was the sort of inviting pass that Slot is adamant has rarely been offered up to the big-money striker during his time and Nunez wasted little time devouring it, poking home with 91 minutes on the clock. His second, just as clinical, was dispatched with the sort of aplomb that suggested he was suddenly a player in full confidence. Here Darwin, you can score twice.

This brace doubles his tally for league the season so far and as Diogo Jota continues to struggle staying fit, this has to be the launchpad for the Uruguay star now. But we've been here before, of course.

Judgements will be reserved for now even if this might be a potentially seismic day in the career of Nunez under Slot. The fact that natural winger Luis Diaz has so often been preferred as the centre-forward during Jota's absence is telling, but there will be few arguments against starting Nunez next week at home to Ipswich Town.

This was reminiscent of his match-winning exploits last season at Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest and while such headline-stealing is always welcome from Liverpool's perspective, the challenge is to become more consistent and less dramatic with his interventions. Six goals this term is nowhere near enough for a forward who could yet cost a club record of £85m but this could yet be the day it all turned for Nunez. He has to build on it.

The Reds grew into the first half and finished it as the stronger of the two teams but lacked conviction in their finishing. Cody Gakpo was most guilty, side-footing a sublime team move wide with his left heel after Dominik Szoboszlai had rattled the bar from about 25 yards moments earlier.

Diaz was struggling to make a telling contribution despite the obvious effort and endeavour from the Colombia international. Like Tuesday at Forest, his willingness to drop deep meant Brentford centre-backs Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg had the entire half played in front of them.

No side had taken more than the Bees' tally of 23 points from home while the Reds were unbeaten on the road, so it was no surprise to see the two teams cancel each other out so effectively in the opening 45 minutes.

Diaz’s work-rate levels stayed high in the second period but his attempts to break the deadlock untroubled Flekken before Alexis Mac Allister had some celebrating when his near-post header thrashed the side netting. That was as close as Slot’s side came before Nunez’s timely opener, converting from close range after Alexander-Arnold refused to be denied by a tiring Brentford defence.

The second was fired high after Elliott had the intelligence to delay the pass until the time was right and the full-time celebrations in the away end was proof of just how big Liverpool, who also have a game in hand on Arsenal, feel this result is.