Arne Slot has hailed Darwin Nunez's "energy and power" after the Uruguayan came on to score a stoppage-time double in their 2-0 win at Brentford.

Liverpool looked set to draw a third consecutive Premier League game in 2025, having struck the post and peppered Mark Flekken’s goal with little success until Nunez’s late intervention.

The striker scored twice in a Premier League game for the fifth time in his career, and for the second time as a substitute, previously doing so against Newcastle United in August 2023 (also a comeback victory in which he netted the winner in the 93rd minute).

The Reds pushed for a winner throughout, having 37 attempts and accumulating 3.4 expected goals (xG). Overall, they had eight shots on target, scoring with the final two.

It is the joint-most shots Liverpool have had in a Premier League game on record (since 2003-04), also doing so against Everton in April 2016.

Slot was delighted Liverpool's pressure finally paid off, and particularly, with the impact from Nunez, who the Dutchman had publicly backed to silence his critics.

"He's always having a lot of impact when he comes in," Slot told BBC Sport. "Brings energy and power.

"Most of our games are the last half hour in control around 18 yards, and that's where he's at his best. The first hour is often open but the last 30 minutes, dominant. Then to have someone like Darwin is nice to have.

"I don't only look at results. We created a lot. But now it's a win, so I don't have to say look at our performance. I was very pleased with our performance.

"Brentford made it a fight. They have good players and a good game plan. It was a nice game to watch, like every time Liverpool are on the pitch.

"During the season you're hoping for these moments. Many moments - we could have scored a late winner against [Manchester] United, [Nottingham] 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."

Brentford, meanwhile, suffered late heartbreak as they were unable to hold on for what would have been a second impressive draw against a 'big six' side, having fought back to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in midweek.

The Bees' home form was particularly impressive at the start of the season as they won seven of their first eight Premier League games at the Gtech Community Stadium (D1), but they have now failed to win any of their last four (D1 L3).

Despite narrowly missing out on a valuable point, Thomas Frank remained upbeat about his team's performance against the league leaders.

"I thought we played a really good game against the best team in the world right now," he told BBC Sport. "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.

"We always try to win the game from minute one despite who's coming here. We knew they'd have the ball a bit more, but we believed we could win the game.

"Yes. I think we just played City and Arsenal and now Liverpool, in a short amount of time. For me, they're a level above the two teams. They're complete. Their work ethic, the way they track back, are good indicators.

"They're so good all over the pitch. Such a threat going forward. These are really, really good. It's the best team in the Premier League and the world. They're huge favourites to win it [the title]."