Liverpool attacker Darwin Nunez etched his name into Reds folklore with his dramatic winner in their 1-0 Premier League success over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The Uruguay international was passed fit to take his seat on the bench against Nuno Espirito Santo's side, making the matchday squad for the first time since sustaining a knock against Brentford in the middle of February.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Andrew Robertson were also back in the Reds' ranks, but Jurgen Klopp's men - who remained without a plethora of other key performers - could not assert their dominance onto the Tricky Trees early doors.
Stand-in goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was called upon on a couple of occasions to save the visitors' bacon, and the spoils would ostensibly be shared as eight minutes of added time went up on the board.
The clock stood at 99 minutes by the time that Liverpool fashioned their last opportunity, though, as Alexis Mac Allister lofted a delicate delivery into the box, and Nunez rose highest to flick a header into the bottom corner in front of the visiting crowd.
VAMOS, @Darwinn99! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wQfIwb9kiR
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 2, 2024
As well as sending Liverpool four points clear at the top of the Premier League table, Nunez's effort represented the latest winning goal ever scored by the Reds in the Premier League since data became available in 2006-07.
The Uruguayan's header was timed at 98 minutes and 38 seconds, which is also the 10th-latest Premier League goal on record, seven of which have been scored since the start of 2023.
Nunez has now reached double figures in Premier League goals for the 2023-24 season, and thanks to his aerial brilliance, Liverpool have also won a Premier League game at the City Ground for the very first time.
Prior to Saturday's encounter, the Reds had tried and failed on six occasions to defeat Nottingham Forest away from home in the competition, going winless in 13 league matches at the stadium overall.
Liverpool's most recent success at the City Ground came all the way back in the 1984-85 season, when they finished second behind Everton, and Mac Allister - who set up Nunez's crucial effort - hailed a "special day" for the Premier League leaders in Nottinghamshire.
© Reuters
"So, a special day for us. To win it like that is not easy, we came to a tough place. In that moment I knew it was the last minute and I just had to put it in [the box]. Then Darwin did the rest. As always, he's an important player for us. He's back, so we are very happy," liverpool.com quotes Mac Allister as saying.
"It was very difficult. In the first half we needed to make runs in behind, we didn't do it. Then second half, we did it a little bit more. We know there is no easy game in the Premier League, this is a tough place, you can see the atmosphere.
"I think everyone could see that we were always positive. You could see Virgil [van Dijk] and our leaders always keeping the team very positive, and that's very important to keep going until the end.
"We are a very good team, a very good group with nice players on and off the pitch. That's really important to be always positive. So, very happy because it's three points and now we move on and we think about Thursday."
Manchester City and Arsenal can reduce the gap to Liverpool at the top of the table before the Reds return to action on Thursday, travelling to Sparta Prague for their Europa League last-16 first leg.
Ben Knapton
