Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez scored twice in stoppage time against Brentford to help the Reds extend their lead to seven points.

Darwin Nunez scored twice in stoppage time Liverpool 2-0 Brentford Consolidating top spot in the Premier League on Saturday.

Second-placed Arsenal will hope to close the four-point gap on Liverpool by beating Aston Villa.

Nunez was jeered by Brentford fans after coming on as a 65th-minute substitute, but the Uruguayan striker turned home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross in the first minute of stoppage time.

Two minutes later, Nunez completed the counterattack to give Liverpool their first victory in three league games. After losing to Tottenham in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-finals, Liverpool drew with Manchester United and Nottingham Forest respectively.

Liverpool have still lost just one league game all season, a home defeat to Forest in September. The Reds took 37 shots against Brentford and scored the last two goals.

Justin Kluivert scored his second league hat-trick of the season as Bournemouth beat Newcastle 4-1 as Newcastle’s nine-game winning streak in all competitions ended.

The Dutch midfielder scored in the sixth, 44th and second-half stoppage time at St James’ Park. Milos Kolquez scored the fourth goal in the 6th minute of stoppage time. Bruno Guimarães equalized for fourth-placed Newcastle.

Kluivert’s father is former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, who also scored three goals against Wolves in November. All of Kluivert’s goals in that game were penalties, but he scored from the air every time against Newcastle.

Six of Newcastle United’s nine consecutive wins have come in the league, helping the Saudi-controlled side move into the top four and seek a return to the Champions League.

Newcastle striker Alexander Isak had previously scored in eight consecutive league games but failed to score. That leaves him three games shy of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy’s record for the longest consecutive scoring streak in Premier League history.

Despite a series of injuries, Bournemouth dominated Newcastle. The south coast side extended their unbeaten run to 11 games and climbed to sixth place, level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea. A fifth-place finish could secure a Champions League spot for next season for the first time. “Why not dream big?” Kluivert posed. “We never know where we’ll end up.”

Second-bottom Leicester City lost 2-0 to Fulham and suffered their seventh consecutive defeat in the league, putting pressure on new coach Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has won just one of his nine league games in charge – the first against West Ham United on December 3. Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore scored for Fulham.

Crystal Palace beat West Ham United 2-0 thanks to two second-half penalty goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta.