London, Jan 19: Arsenal slipped up in the Premier League title race, squandering a two-goal lead to draw with Aston Villa after Liverpool beat Brentford thanks to a stoppage-time double from Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool’s 2-0 win on Saturday could hardly have been clinched any later, with Nunez – the oft-derided Uruguay striker – scoring in the first and third minutes of added-on time to ensure the leaders avoided a third straight draw.
Playing a couple of hours later and looking to restore the four-point gap, second-placed Arsenal took a 2-0 lead through goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz but ended up drawing 2-2. Ollie Watkins grabbed the equaliser for Villa to hurt the title chances of the team he grew up supporting.
On what could prove to be a significant day in the title race, Liverpool moved into a six-point lead and still has a game in hand on Arsenal.
Nunez has last laugh
Nunez was taunted by Brentford’s fans after going on as a substitute in the 65th minute, and wasted a chance before turning home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold to give Liverpool the lead.
Nunez then finished off a counterattack two minutes later to secure 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.
“We were close to not getting what we deserved,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.
Nunez, who is sometimes criticised for wasteful finishing, doubled his tally of league goals for the season.
“Darwin did really well, not only with the goals but with his attitude and the way he fights for every ball,” Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker said.
“You can say he doesn’t score too much this season, but he is working hard every day.”
Arsenal collapses without injured Saliba
Arsenal has already dropped 12 points from winning positions this season and couldn’t hold on against Villa without injured defensive lynchpin William Saliba.
It was the first time since 2019 that Arsenal failed to win at home in the Premier League when being two goals clear, with Youri Tielemans and then Watkins converting crosses that might otherwise have been cleared by Saliba.
Arsenal looked like snatching a win when Mikel Merino’s shot deflected into the net off Havertz in the 87th minute but the goal was disallowed after a video review spotted the ball struck the arm of Havertz.
Liverpool’s strength in depth in attack might prove the difference in its title tussle with Arsenal.
Nunez is Liverpool’s fifth-choice forward but came up with two crucial goals. Without the injured Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal had no goal-scorer to call upon from the bench and couldn’t find a winner despite late pressure. (AP)