Substitute Darwin Nunez’s stoppage-time double gave Liverpool a 2-0 win at Brentford on Saturday, as the Premier League leaders left it late to record their first league win of 2025.

Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo spurned good opportunities before the break, with Ryan Gravenberch forcing a diving stop from Mark Flekken and Dominik Szoboszlai skimming the bar as the visitors cranked up the pressure.

But Brentford held firm and seemed on course for a deserved point until Nunez tapped in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross from close range in the 91st minute, before he added a second two minutes later to seal the points.

Liverpool remained top with 50 points from 21 games, seven ahead of second-placed Arsenal who host Aston Villa later on Saturday. Brentford are 11th with 28 points from 22 games.

Elsewhere, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice in the second half as Crystal Palace completed a 2-0 Premier League away win at a toothless West Ham United on Saturday, more evidence for new manager Graham Potter of the difficult job at hand in east London.

Palace broke from their own box and within three touches Eberechi Eze’s pass to the feet of Mateta set the striker on goal and he drilled the ball low into the goal, before adding a second from the penalty spot late on.

West Ham’s poor afternoon was compounded by a second yellow card for Konstantinos Mavropanos 10 minutes from the end following his high boot into the face of Mateta, giving referee Thomas Bramall an easy decision to make.

Palace climb to 12th place in the table with 27 points from 22 games, above West Ham, who are in 14th with 26 points from the same number of matches.

Also, second-half strikes from Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore condemned Leicester City to a seventh straight defeat in the Premier League as visiting Fulham won 2-0 on Saturday.

Fulham broke through in the 48th minute when Harry Wilson’s clipped cross inside the box found Sasa Lukic who headed it down for an onrushing Smith Rowe, who finished with a low header.

An unmarked Traore doubled the visitors’ lead 20 minutes later, when the Spaniard found the net off Wilson’s cross.

Leicester, 19th in the table, visit Tottenham Hotspur on Jan. 26, the same day that mid-table Fulham host Manchester United.

Furthermore, Bournemouth midfielder Justin Kluivert struck a superb hat-trick in a 4-1 away win over his father Patrick’s former club Newcastle United in Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off, ending the hosts’ six-match winning run in the league.

Bournemouth sounded a warning as early as the fourth minute when Martin Dubravka was forced into a save by Dango Outtara, but there was little the goalkeeper could do to prevent Kluivert giving them the lead two minutes later.

The man-to-man press of the visitors caused Newcastle no end of problems and when Bournemouth won the ball high up the pitch, Antoine Semenyo was able to feed Kluivert, who swept the ball past Dubravka for the opener.

Roared on by the home crowd, Newcastle captain Bruno Guimares levelled in the 25th minute, cleverly creating space for himself around the penalty spot before heading home Lewis Hall’s corner.

Undeterred, Kluivert put his side back in front before the break and they continued to attack in the second half while keeping Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, who had scored in his last eight Premier League outings, quiet.

Outtara thought he had made it 3-1 for Bournemouth with a finish from close range in the 61st minute but the ball was ruled to have gone out of play in the build-up and his side had to be content with a corner instead.

Newcastle threatened occasionally from distance but the visiting defence remained solid, and Kluivert, whose father managed one league goal at St. James’ Park in a season-long stay with the Magpies in 2004/05, curled in a superb third in second-half stoppage time to complete his hat-trick.

Defender Milos Kerkez then completed the rout with a late rocket as Andoni Iraola’s side cantered to victory.