Lessons Learned: Nunez The Late Hero | OneFootball

Reds Come Through Stern Test to Go Seven Points Clear

There’s a mixed element to this one. Whilst it’s brilliant and scintillating to win a game this way, it probably has taken years off the lives of many Kopites. Many had started to think about how badly we wanted Villa to do us a favour, but the pressure is now lumped on Arsenal. Liverpool got their just desserts in a game where you thought they were gonna break stats records with the wrong outcome. Every team needs these moments of they’re going to life the big prizes. We look at the lessons learned from a 2-0 victory at The G-Tech stadium.

Nunez! Nunez! Nunez!

It told its own story when with Diogo Jota’s nights confirmed as ruling him out, Luis Diaz kept his position as the false nine. We can reason and give recriminations all night about how Arne Slot doesn’t fancy Darwin Nunez, but he’d have given him a big sloppy one after this game. His first was a real strikers’ goal, when he opened his body and tucked it in, having been squared it by Trent. His second saw the power of confidence and what it can do. Nunez composed himself after Eliott found him and fired into the net. Whatever happens in his future, you really hope we look at this as a key part in the season and he gets the credit he deserves.

Premier League Brentford v Liverpool Darwin Nunez of Liverpool celebrates his goal to make it 0-2 during the Premier League match Brentford vs Liverpool at The Gtech Community Stadium, London, United Kingdom, 18th January 2025 Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images London The Gtech Community Stadium Greater London United Kingdom Copyright: xAlfiexCosgrove/NewsxImagesx

Set Piece Coach Please

Many had forgotten that at the start of the season Liverpool had advertised on LinkedIn for a set-piece coach, yet abandoned the search and Aaron Briggs was tasked with the role. They may really need to think again though, as we wasted corner after corner in this one. Forest aside, this was standard practice for Slot’s team and they had wasted 8 by the end of the first half in this one. Most had lost count by the end of the match and while the focus was on 34 shots without a goal, this shouldn’t be forgotten. We’re not looking for him to get his own mural but it has to be looked at surely? Seems a million years ago since we got two in The San Siro.

Premier League Brentford v Liverpool Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool heads just wide of goal from a corner during the Premier League match Brentford vs Liverpool at The Gtech Community Stadium, London, United Kingdom, 18th January 2025 Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images London The Gtech Community Stadium Greater London United Kingdom Copyright: xAlfiexCosgrove/NewsxImagesx

Best Of The Rest

So so much to like when it finished like that. Firstly it would be wrong not to single out the skipper for praise and again he was crucial to us keeping a clean sheet in this one. Harvey Elliott comes on late, plays a part in the first and gets an assist for the second. You wonder what he’s done in Arne Slot’s thinking now. Szoboszlai carried the ball and ran his heart out whilst covering players galore blitzing forward. Macca was his normal industrious self and provided that bit of quality when needed and Trent gets another assist for the season. So so much to like