- Liverpool had drawn their last two Premier League games before Saturday's victory.
- Darwin Núñez came off the bench to take three points from the jaws of a tie
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! Is Everton where they deserve to be or are the club's fans deceived?
Darwin Nunez scored two goals in stoppage time to earn a big win for Liverpool and put them seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Arne Slot's team was chugging along for 91 minutes, but could not break down the red and white wall of Brentford, who produced an inspired performance. They accumulated 35 shots without breaching the Bees' rearguard.
And just when you thought the league leaders were going to fall to a third consecutive draw – in what would have been far from a disaster but certainly a blow – substitute Núñez appeared with what could be a decisive goal in this race for the title.
With the 36th and 37th shots of the game, the Uruguayan finished off a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold and then slotted a second into the top corner.
Suddenly, what would have been a dent in their title hopes became a seismic moment and memorable day.
Brentford have become accustomed to making life difficult for the big boys who succeed in west London, as they demonstrated on Tuesday with their feisty performance and draw against champions Manchester City. And here they could have easily taken a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes.
Darwin Núñez scored two goals in injury time to surprise Brentford and seal Liverpool's 2-0 victory.
Nunez was called up from the bench, but was there when needed to break the Bees' hearts.
The Uruguayan's double save in stoppage time was the 36th and 37th shots of the game
Bryan Mbeumo found space behind Kostas Tsimikas on the right flank and combined with Mads Roerslev, who put the ball on a plate for Mikkel Damsgaard.
All the Dane had to do was touch the center but he missed and missed a golden opportunity.
Liverpool soon calmed down and peppered Brentford's penalty area without seriously threatening Mark Flekken. Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch all had shots inside the first 20 minutes, but were unable to break through.
Dominik Szoboszlai had two chances in one minute, first breaking through the defense and being brought down by a tame shot.
Learning from that feeble effort, the next was a bolt of lightning that struck Flekken and shook the crossbar.
Gakpo also came close after starting and finishing the match play, making a low pass to Szoboszlai. The Hungarian captain made Mohamed Salah run and he chose Gakpo, but his shot went wide.
The opportunities kept coming for Liverpool, just as they did in the dying embers of the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Salah saw a shot deflected over Flekken's head, but Nathan Collins returned to clear it past his goalkeeper.
Red-hot midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard squandered a glorious chance as Brentford took the lead
Dominik Szoboszlai was a threat for the visitors and had two shots on goal in one minute.
Arne Slot's team was huffing and puffing against the red and white wall, but could not find a way before the arrival of Núñez.
Thomas Frank's team produced an inspired performance that kept the leaders offside for 90 minutes
Despite Liverpool's constant threat, Bryan Mbeumo was a thorn in the Reds' side on the counter-attack.
Díaz also tanned Flekken's gloves and wanted a penalty for an alleged foul after the result but did nothing.
Brentford's goal at the time was to live a charmed life, but they had some counterattacks led by the menacing Mbeumo.
Slot's substitutes won the point at Forest with Tsimikas and Diogo Jota (now injured) combining on their first appearance and that almost happened again when Andy Robertson crossed for Nunez minutes after coming on. This time the forward headed wide.
Brentford certainly had chances to win with Yoane Wissa and Mbeumo firing in from inside the penalty area.
Alisson was called upon to perform more than he expected, but none of the efforts were worrying.
But with the clock ticking down to the end of the game, Núñez claimed victory and doubled his league goal tally for the season in the space of two minutes with two memorable goals. The visiting team went into delirium.