Reaction'Today was his day' - Virgil van Dijk hails match-winner Darwin Nunez
Nunez was introduced midway through the second half of Saturday’s contest at Gtech Community Stadium and went on to be decisive as he struck twice in added time to secure a crucial victory for the Premier League leaders.
Van Dijk said post-match: “You have to earn these things. As a striker you get judged on goals, especially at a club like Liverpool. Today he put his mark on the game, very important. We need everyone at their best. Today was his day.”
The Reds dominated large parts of the game but, a few days on from doing so while being held by Nottingham Forest, looked set to drop points again.
However, Arne Slot’s team were relentless in their pursuit of a winner and Brentford’s resistance was finally broken in the 91st minute, before Nunez scored again two minutes later.
Van Dijk added: “Every win is a big result, especially when the teams around us are very strong. We have to stay consistent, win games and perform well.
“They [Brentford] have a very clear structure. You try to break a low block down and if you lose the ball sometimes you can get a counter-attack on you. They create some danger moments [and] they create them against any team in the league. We handled it well and could have scored more.
“There is no walk in the park. Every game, teams are very good. They want to play their best game against us like we want to play our best game against them.
“If nobody is ready for a bumpy ride then this season will definitely be one.”