LONDON - Turn off the alarm, turn the dial back from panic mode and Liverpool's title-winning campaign is back on track. After all, they have the best get-out-of-jail-free card in the Premier League: sending out Darwin Nunez.

The fourth official still held up a sign showing there were four minutes of added time left in a tense game at Brentford and perhaps it was fitting that Liverpool's most chaotic footballer was the only one able to keep his head above water. A game that seemed destined to end in a goalless draw somehow ended up with Liverpool winning 2-0.

Nunez's place in the starting XI was overlooked by Arne Slott, and with the No. 9 spot vacant for the injured Diogo Jota, Nunez watched from the bench as his teammates performed in front of goal. An incredible amount of extravagance. By the end of the game, Liverpool had shot 37 times, the most in a single game in the past nine years, but the Uruguay international's last two shots played a decisive role.

Nunez will be the first to admit he has struggled this season, making just seven starts in the Premier League. The two goals were his first in the league since November 9 and brought his tally to just four this season. There is speculation that he may even be allowed to leave in this transfer window. Slaughter may now be thinking again.

But the final stretch of the fight was when Nunez came alive. Eight of his 24 Premier League goals have come after the 75th minute. Although Nunez has not become Liverpool's Solskjaer, a "super substitute" who can come on and turn one point into three is always crucial for a championship-winning team. Nunez seems perfect for the role. In fact, Nunez has been directly involved in more goals as a substitute than any other player since arriving in England in the 2022-23 season (11 goals - 7 goals, 4 assists).

“He scored,” Slaughter said of Nunez. "He works very hard for the team. He assists but he competes with a lot of good players. So that's why he doesn't play every game.

"But I'm very happy with him, not just because he scored two goals today, which of course helped. But I'm also very happy with the other performances he did for us."

Liverpool may lack the ruthless edge that saw them win in the first half of the season since the start of the year. That was the case again in the first 45 minutes in west London, with Liverpool doing their best but failing to get the ball into Brentford's net, taking 19 shots in total and an expected goals ratio of 1.54.

In Jota's absence, the front three of Cody Gakpo, Luis Dias and Mohamed Salah terrorized the home team's backline, inventing new ways to almost score, each one More clever than the last one. Salah created five chances alone, one of which was a perfect pass that gave Gakpo a one-on-one chance, but the Dutch forward inexplicably missed it.

Liverpool entered the New Year looking even more panicked than they did in 2024 when they swept West Ham United 5-0. That win at the London Stadium extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points and put fellow challengers Arsenal firmly in the rearview mirror. In the 20 days between that game and the Brentford game, the only team Liverpool could beat in the FA Cup was Second Division relegation candidates Accrington Stanley.

Virgil van Dijk dismissed the idea of ​​a "crisis" after Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, and Sloter must be prepared to face similar issues as the final whistle approaches.

"We don't change anything between now and the start of the season or the first half of the season," Slaughter insisted after the game. “What you do see is, at the moment, it’s a little bit difficult for us to convert chances into goals.

"It's not just up to us, but because teams put themselves in front of every ball every time we have a chance. A lot of other teams try to stop us from scoring. It's always the case. They're all down low."

Whether it was a design error, Slott's side often attacked, leaving just two Liverpool defenders to track back against potential counterattacks in Brian Mbeumo and Yoane Visa. Brentford tried to take advantage of the offer at every opportunity, with Mbemo constantly occupying the space vacated by Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas.

Bees coach Thomas Frank continues to defy odds and find new gains to propel his team, which is in 11th place after this defeat. They also had their chances, taking 11 shots on goal, with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker making seven saves. The home side could have saved three points before Nunez's final game.

Watching Mbemo is like watching Salah. The quick touches with the outside of their left foot are very clone-like as they create their preferred shooting angles in the corners of the box.

But it looked like a game that featured 48 shots - more than one every other minute - would end without a goal. But Nunez had other ideas.

As the clock ticked down to 90 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold's well-intentioned break allowed the right-back to send a ball across the face of goal, with Nunez bypassing Mark Flecken's desperate save. Two minutes later, Nunez created some space in the penalty area and then shot into the net, making the score 2-0.

Nunez was mobbed in front of a frenzied away crowd, well aware that they might have just witnessed a pivotal moment in the title race.