Liverpool need Nunez brace in injury time to down Brentford

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez scores twice in injury time at Brentford as Reds’ extend lead at top to seven points.

Darwin Nunez scored twice in stoppage time as Liverpool beat Brentford 2-0 to strengthen its spot in first place in the Premier League on Saturday.

Second-placed Arsenal will look to restore the four-point gap to Liverpool by defeating Aston Villa later.

Nunez was derided by Brentford’s fans after going on as a substitute in the 65th minute, but the Uruguay striker responded by turning home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first minute of added-on time.

Nunez then finished off a counterattack two minutes later and secured a first victory in three league games for Liverpool, which drew with Manchester United and Nottingham Forest either side of a loss to Tottenham in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals.

Liverpool has still lost only one league game all season, at home to Forest in September. The Reds had 37 shots against Brentford and scored with their final two.

Justin Kluivert scored his second hat-trick of the season in the league to inspire Bournemouth to 4-1 at Newcastle, whose nine-match winning run in all competitions came to an end emphatically.

The Dutch midfielder netted in the sixth, 44th and second-half stoppage time at St James’ Park. Milos Kerkez added the fourth goal in the sixth minute of added-on time. Bruno Guimaraes equalised for fourth-placed Newcastle.

Kluivert, whose father is former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, also scored three goals against Wolverhampton in November. In that match, all of Kluivert’s goals were penalties, but he scored from open play each time against Newcastle.

Six of Newcastle’s nine straight victories came in the league, helping to lift the Saudi-controlled team into the top four in its bid to return to the Champions League.

Newcastle striker Alexander Isak failed to score, having previously netted in eight league games in a row. That left him three games short of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy’s record for the longest scoring run in Premier League history.

Bournemouth dominated Newcastle despite being hampered by a long list of injuries. The south coast team extended its unbeaten run to 11 games and climbed to sixth place, tied for points with fifth-placed Chelsea. A fifth-place finish could earn a place in the Champions League next season for the first time. “Why not dream big?” Kluivert posed. “We never know where we can end up.”

Next-to-last Leicester lost a seventh straight game in the league, 2-0 to Fulham, to pile the pressure on recently hired manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy has won only one of his nine league games in charge — the first against West Ham on December 3. Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore scored for Fulham.

Crystal Palace won at West Ham 2-0 thanks to two second-half goals by Jean-Philippe Mateta, the second from the penalty spot.