Virgil van Dijk said "today was his day" after Darwin Nunez emerged from the substitutes' bench to seal a dramatic late victory for Liverpool over Brentford.

The Reds controlled proceedings at the Gtech Community Stadium but the game was still goalless entering injury time, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah all having gone close with efforts from outside the area earlier in the match.

Despite having the better of the game, Liverpool struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, and when Alexander-Arnold created one in the 91st minute, Nunez was on hand to turn the ball home. An emboldened Nunez then doubled Liverpool's lead in the 93rd minute as he took the ball off the toes of Salah and rifled a shot past Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal.

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During a post-match interview with Optus Sports, Van Dijk was asked whether Nunez deserves moments like this, and he responded: "You have to earn these things, and as a striker you get judged on goals. Especially in a club like Liverpool, he put his mark on the game today with the two goals. Very important, that's what we need. We need everyone at their best, contributing to success, and today was his day."

Van Dijk warned his teammates to expect a "bumpy ride" during the run-in as the club searches for a second Premier League title in six years. He added: "Every win is a big result, especially when the teams around us are very strong, and they obviously strengthen themselves as well [in the transfer market] probably. We have to stay consistent, win games and perform well.

"We have to try to play our best football every game and perform in the best way possible and every game I think is very difficult. There is no walk in the park. Every game, teams are very good, and they want to play their best game against us, like we want to do against them. Every game will be a difficult one. If nobody is ready for a bumpy ride, then this season will definitely be one. Hopefully we'll be consistent and win games and enjoy ourselves, because if you don't enjoy the ride it's difficult."