Arne Slot praises Liverpool star who helped spark Darwin Nunez heroics: 'Don't forget him'
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Arne Slot was full of praise for Darwin Nunez after his dramatic late brace for Liverpool against Brentford, but also singled out Harvey Elliott’s important contributions off the bench. Despite producing a huge total of 37 shots, the Premier League leaders looked to be heading towards a third consecutive frustrating top-flight draw at the Gtech Community Stadium that would have left their lead at the summit vulnerable to being cut down to as low as two points with title rivals Arsenal hosting Aston Villa later on Saturday.
However, substitute Nunez netted twice in the space of two minutes in second-half stoppage time to settle a thrilling, end-to-end encounter that saw Liverpool open up a seven-point gap before the Gunners took to the pitch in the evening kick-off. It was a firm riposte to his critics from the much-maligned Uruguayan striker, who has struggled for both regular starts and goals this season but whom manager Slot insisted at his pre-match press conference on Friday was not suffering from a lack of self-confidence.
“[A reporter] asked me similar things before the game about Darwin and I didn't agree then that he's not having a good season,” the Dutchman said after Nunez’s last-gasp heroics in west London. “I think he's having a good season, where 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 but that, of course, helps – but I'm very happy with the other performances he put in for us as well.”.
