At The Match: Darwin at the double!
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Hi Reds, James Pearce here, just finishing up at the GTEC Community Stadium where it finished Brentford 0-2 Liverpool. Coming up, we'll bring you all the best post-match reaction, we'll hear the best parts from Arna Schlott's press conference and my colleague Mark Carey will drop by to give us his take on a dramatic afternoon in the Premier League title race. Darwin Nunez at the double, delirium!

So it's all over here at the G-Tech Community Stadium and what a finale that was. As we ticked over into stoppage time, Liverpool fans all around the globe had that sinking feeling. Arne Schlott-Seiber on the brink of what would have been a damaging stalemate, but...

What a time! What a time to step up!

It just wipes away all that frustration, doesn't it? After the recent setbacks, absolutely crucial. And nobody could say that they didn't deserve it. That was Liverpool scoring with their 36th and 37th shots.

of the afternoon here that's the most on record by a Premier League away team in a fixture and also the most Liverpool have had in any Premier League game since their 4-0 home win over Everton way back in April 2016 so

yeah it was it it um it certainly wasn't the kind of routine two nil win that um you like to get under your belt in a when you're when you're fighting out for the title but those i think we know from previous campaigns those victories when you pull it out the bag in that kind of manner they just mean so much you know the the energy and the that that gives you the morale boost um

And I think the resilience they showed, you know, it would have been so tough. You know, that would have felt like a defeat if they hadn't managed to find the breakthrough, especially having been so dominant. Yes, Brentford had a few openings on the counter-attack, but by and large, that was attack versus defence for Brentford.

certainly I'd say probably the game apart from the opening 15-20 minutes because I thought Liverpool didn't start great but yeah and huge for Nunes you know so much talk about his future and I think yeah there probably are long-term doubts I think that's something that's going to have to be addressed in the summer but between now and May it's crucial that slot

as much as possible out of him. And he admitted in the build-up to this game he hasn't been able to get the best out of him so far. I think it will have hurt Nunes the fact that, especially in a season when Jota has missed so much football, that Slott has preferred to play Luis Diaz as a false nine and leave Nunes out. But on a day when, of course, the frustration of losing Jota, having only just got him back in terms of back-to-full performance

fitness and of course Jota so important coming off the bench against Nottingham Forest in midweek but with no Jota here today Diaz really ineffective I thought how Liverpool needed Darwin Nunes to step up and deliver you could see as well from the reaction at the final whistle that he is a popular member of the squad his teammates really want him to do well and also the

the fans haven't given up on him you know certainly the match going ones you know that away end were were chanting his name you know we've come to expect the the kind of barbs that come from opposition fans you know likening likening him to to a poor version of Andy Carroll should we say as a

tweak on the chant that headed in Nunes' direction when he came off the bench but yeah that chant was sung back at the home fans by the jubilant away end in an ironic fashion after Nunes broke Brentford's hearts and yeah I think

lifted him, cleaned off his feet at the final whistle. You could, you know, that beaming smile of Nunes is, you know, you'd have to have a heart of stone, wouldn't you, not to be pleased for him. And I think, yeah, by and large, I think Slott seemed pretty delighted with what he'd seen in terms of the way Liverpool stuck at it. You know, I still think

you know, they'll be kicking themselves that they left it so late in terms of that lack of clinical edge because the point should have been secured long before that. But, you know, once again, the depth of the squad came to the fore, which substitutes play in a big part. And I think, you know, it'd be wrong not to highlight the contribution of Harvey Elliott as well because he's a player that's,

had a really tough time this season he suffered that broken foot early on that kept him out for a few months and I think there's been a lot of games where I felt Liverpool would have really benefited from Elliot being out there

And he hasn't been given minutes. I think he's been underplayed. But that was the perfect riposte from Elliot today. He's such a gifted footballer and he had a big part in both the goals. So I really hope, you know, of course Nunes will grab the headlines and we hope that he will kick on from here. I hope the same goes for Elliot because...

he was exceptional. So yeah, first half, it was just the one change today with Simakas in for Robertson, which certainly wasn't a big surprise. And there were some hairy moments early on. Obviously, Simakas booked for Foulham Boemo, who caused Liverpool problems, I thought,

You know, there were moments in that first 15, 20 minutes where you thought Brian Moebo might play a really big part in this game because he was a real handful. But it certainly helped that defensively, I thought Van Dijk was absolutely exceptional again today. Time and time again, when Brentford did have dangerous situations, he was in the right place at the right time to deal with it. It was just a tale, wasn't it, of Liverpool squandering big chances. You know, Diaz getting that header all wrong from Canarte's cross there.

Zabozlai weaving his way into a great position but then a real tame finish a much better strike from Zabozlai of course that canoned off the bar and then when Gagpo missed that chance just before the break from Salah's low cross you thought is this not going to be Liverpool's day I think the second half they just cranked the pressure up the changes certainly helped with Nunes and Robertson on for Diaz and Simakas and yeah the chances just kept on coming didn't they with you know

you know, initially, you know, there were groans in Nunes' direction when he, you know, he got the header wrong from Robertson's cross. There was another time when he absolutely ballooned one over the bar and Alexander-Arnold was among the, though he was absolutely fuming with him because he was, he was,

shouting out for a simple pass just to Nunes' right. But I think that was just... We've seen it before with Nunes. Sometimes he does try too hard. He was so desperate to make a big impression on this game and thankfully he did just calm down slightly. And then again, credit to slot because I thought Jones and Elliott on for McAllister and Zboszlai. That improved Liverpool, those fresh legs. Just kept Brentford...

pinned back Liverpool kept kept possession I thought really well Alexander-Arnold went really close didn't he and then you know the last throw of the dice with Chiesa on for Gagpo and then finally finally all of that pressure paid 91st minute

Elliot to Alexander-Arnold, low cross turned in by Nunes. The shirt was off, wild celebrations, and he wasn't even finished then. Was he a really slick counter-attack? Chiesa involved, Elliot to Nunes. And the kind of calmness and composure that we probably don't see enough from Nunes was he cut inside and lashed home his second of the afternoon. So, yeah.

Yeah, this felt big for Liverpool, especially having, what was it, dropped points in four of the previous seven games. Coming here to a team that have got a fantastic home record. Make no mistake, yes, Liverpool had to really be patient and finally got their rewards today, but there's no doubt they deserved that. Thomas Frank saying himself just now in his press conference that he said, we've played all the top teams recently and no one comes close to Liverpool. He said they are the most complete team.

And now they have to build on this because, yeah, this is the kind of victory that can really propel you towards a league title. This is Walk On, your dedicated Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. So first up in his press conference, Arne Schlott was asked whether he had any doubts that the goals would finally arrive and Liverpool's dominance would belatedly be rewarded. Yes, of course I had doubts about that because...

Before we scored the two goals it felt as if I was looking at the same game again and again and again and the same pattern arised. I said it already a few times in other interviews that against United everybody was focused on the Maguire chance but the seven minutes before we had three open chances. So many times in the recent weeks against Tottenham as well we missed a lot of chances. Against Forest we missed a lot.

Yeah, would have been a bit surprising if I felt, okay, after all these chances missed today,

We will probably score in the last five minutes, but the boys, the players proved me wrong again. Slot was then asked about today's impact from Darwin Nunes off the bench and the persistence he showed to be Liverpool's match winner in such dramatic circumstances. One of you, not you, but you was not there, asked me similar things before the game about Darwin and I didn't agree then that he's not having a good season.

I think he's having a very good season. He scores goals, he works very hard for the team, he assists, but he's in competition with a lot of good players. So that's why he's not every single game on the pitch. But I'm very happy with him, not only because he scored today two goals, that of course helps,

But I'm very happy with the other performances he put in for us as well. Well, continuing on that theme, Slot was asked about the nature of Nunes' goals, having previously referenced how hard it can be for Nunes to try and perform against a deep-lying defence when we all know that he loves having that space in behind to exploit. The first one was a long build-up. The second one was a counter-attack. But, no, he can, of course, score his goals defensively.

against a low block because he's a striker and he's a threat in crosses as well. Immediately after he came on he had quite a good chance when Rabot crossed it in. But if it's about strikers or if it's about the team, if we would not have scored today in the last five minutes then the headlines would have been Liverpool drops points again and no one would have told you 37 shots on target.

What a display. How many teams were able against Brentford to have 37 shots on target during a game? And now, because of our scoring too, probably there's a bit of emphasis on that fact as well.

So this is the industry we work in as a manager, the team, the players, we all accept this and we all understand this, that there's a lot of focus on if it doesn't go well and not as much on the fact if you have a great performance. So we are an industry where it's about winning and losing and not about if you play beautiful football, yes or no. People only enjoy good football, beautiful football, if you win.

and otherwise there's no focus at all on the performance. Slot was then asked about the significance of that win for Liverpool today in the context of their season, given there have been some frustrating slip-ups recently against the likes of Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. Again, you are talking about the result, because I focus on my own team, so let's not focus on the teams we faced, but...

If you look at simple about amount of chances created and I think you all are a bit aware of the XG, is that something familiar for you now? Do me a favour and look back at our United game and see what the XG of both teams were and do this against Forest and do this today, then you will probably see that there's nothing changed

with us between now and the start of the season or the first half of the season. What you do see is that it's at this moment of time a bit harder for us to convert our chances into goals. That's not only up to us, that's also because teams throw themselves in front of every ball every time we get a chance. So many of the other teams try to prevent us from scoring because all of them are in a low block.

So I have a different opinion than you about our current performances, but we have the same opinion about our results. Slot was also asked about what kind of damage a draw would have done today in terms of Liverpool's momentum and the title race as a whole. Because we are an industry that is only talking about results, but I think me as a manager...

would have felt that we crumbled because I heard that word just a second ago so I'm trying to use it without exactly knowing what it means but I think it means that we go down a bit. As a manager I've told the players during this week again I couldn't have asked for more in the Forest game. Only one counter-attack conceded and so many chances created against a team that hardly ever concedes

any chance at all in their game. Brentford has never faced this season, I'm 99.9% sure of that, 37 shots in a game. So what can I ask more of our players? I saw today that Brentford were more of a threat in the counter-attack than Forest were. Let that be clear. But that has also to do with a lot of credits you have to give to Brentford because I saw their game on Tuesday where it was a completely equal game. Both teams had numerous chances.

They came back after 2-0 behind. So we knew how hard it was to play. We knew how hard it was to play at Forest. And we knew how difficult it is to play against such a low block as United played against us and later on against Arsenal. So, yeah, second half of the season always more difficult to win. But I cannot ask more from these players. They give everything.

everything they have. Well, then the conversation turned to the influence of Ibrahima Kanate and Captain Virgil van Dijk at the back. I thought both of those two defenders were absolutely outstanding for Liverpool today. You know, Brentford are a real handful. They're energetic, they're physical, they get at you, they pose a real threat on the counter-attack. But I thought Liverpool's two centre-halves really stood firm and slot was equally impressed. I think today also you saw more than in the Forest game that Liverpool

I think if I would have been the manager of Brentford I would have probably said "oh there were moments for us to win the game" because there were moments for them to win the game. And most of those moments were defended really well by Ibu and by Virgil. So they went in a 1v1 against them in a counter attack but we pushed them wide really well which helped of course Ellison to save those shots.

These players, because I emphasised on that in the pre-match meeting, Mbweno likes to go to his left and they scored a lot by going inside. Of course, one of the reasons why we're so high in the league table is because we have

two and four very good centre-backs. And finally, there was some well-earned words of praise for Harvey Elliott. It's been tough for Elliott so far this season with his lack of minutes, but Slott was asked about his impact off the bench against Brentford here this afternoon. In all the other interviews, there was a lot of focus on Darwin because he scored two goals. And every time I said, yeah, but don't forget Harvey, he had a big impact on both goals as well.

It's so nice for me, for us as a team, that I have players that can impact the game on the bench as well. This happened in Forest with Jota and Costas and today with Harvey and with Darwin. If you only focus on results, if you also focus on performance, what I do, I also like Drobo and Curtis when they came in and Federico was only for five minutes so you can't say a lot about that.

But it's nice to have so many opportunities on the bench as well. That's why they have to stay available, they have to stay fit. Because one of the strengths of a team is not only four good centre-backs, but definitely also players that can impact the game from the bench. Mark Carey here reporting from a very cold GTEC Community Stadium after Liverpool.

Well, late winners, thanks to the Darwin Nunes goals. I think the subs worked in the end with Harvey Elliott and Fede Chiesa also having an impact and involvement in both of those two goals as well. I think ultimately you have to give credit to Liverpool for their resilience, obviously having so many shots. I'm sure it's been spoken about already on this podcast, but 37 in total, which I think was the most that Liverpool have had for nine years in the Premier League. So,

Brentford's goal they dominated possession for long periods but as much as anything I do think you have to give credit to Brentford they made Liverpool work for it with some really good deep defending obviously Liverpool forced them back a lot and worked into some really good situations and

quite a few shots from distance as well and they had quite a lot of corners for Liverpool. I think it's fair to say they had 15 in total, which is more than any other Premier League game this season for Liverpool. It was interesting to see they mixed up their type of corners. I think they had more outswingers in this game than they've had across the course of this season, which was interesting to see. Obviously, to no avail in terms of scoring from those situations, which I think is interesting to

Obviously the outcome is that Liverpool have won but I still think it's interesting that Liverpool have struggled to score from corners this season especially in the Premier League and the numbers back it up as well. They've scored 1.7 goals per 100 corners so account for the opportunity to take corners in the Premier League this season. Now that's the second worst rate of any team in the Premier League so there's definitely room for improvement there. They had so many chances to score from those corners but Brentford obviously swatted them away each time but

Again, it's based purely on outcome because Liverpool have won the game. But I do think there's an element to which Liverpool could improve from a pressing perspective as well. I felt like their press from the front was just a little bit off. I thought that Brentford did really well to mix up their build-up play in general. They were often mixing it up in terms of playing short sometimes and then going long and just kept Liverpool guessing at times. But

It just felt with Liverpool's front line, their distances maybe weren't quite right in terms of making sure that they suffocated Brentford in the press, which historically Liverpool have been so, so good at. So I'm not sure why it was off. I think there's been similar occasions against Manchester United where, again, those distances just weren't quite right. They were a little bit slow in getting to their man and the opposition, United previously, Brentford today were...

able to get out and at least get to the halfway line without too much fuss which again potentially room for improvement there but overall I think Arnaud Slot will be obviously pleased with the result and largely his performance 37 shots you can't be too disappointed with that at all and obviously Liverpool just kept at it three points much needed after dropping a few points in recent weeks and obviously got a couple of home games to come in both Europe and in the Premier League which which we welcome

For the latest subscription offers, head to theathletic.com forward slash LiverpoolPod. Well, that's it for me here at the GTEC Community Stadium. For plenty more match reaction and analysis, check out The Athletic. I'll be back with Tony Evans and the rest of the team for the Walk On podcast later this week. Thanks for joining me and I'll catch you then. The Athletic FC Podcast Network.