LASK 3-6 Liverpool Stats: Barcola Bags Hat-Trick in Big Champions League Win Analyst
Liverpool enjoyed a 6-3 win over LASK in theUEFA Champions Leagueon Wednesday, with Bradley Barcola starring, though Andoni Iraola may be concerned by their defending. Bradley Barcola opened his Liverpool account with a hat-trick, though Andoni Iraola's team were found wanting at the back in an entertaining 6-3 Champions League victory over LASK.
Barcola had made a slow start to his Liverpool career following his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain, but the two-time European champion put those troubles behind him at Raiffeisen Arena. His hat-trick goal put Liverpool 5-1 up midway through the second half, with Lewis Koumas then nudging the visitors into an even more commanding position, though some dismal Reds defending allowed LASK a glimmer of hope heading into the latter stages.
Ronald Araujo put Liverpool ahead in the 22nd minute, heading home from Kostas Tsimikas' inswinging corner. And Liverpool doubled their advantage within 96 seconds, as Koumas wriggled free and teed up Barcola, who confidently swept into the left-hand corner.
Liverpool's stand-in captain Tsimikas did brilliantly to pick out Koumas soon after, but the youngster's neat finish was disallowed for offside, before Ryan Gravenberch's low shot bounced out off the post. But there was no denying Barcola in the 37th minute, with the Frenchman coolly slotting in his second Liverpool goal after latching onto Florian Wirtz 's sliderule pass.
Liverpool had their fourth as Jeremie Frimpong headed in from Tsimikas' centre six minutes into the second half. Iraola switched his centre-backs on the hour, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez coming on.
Within moments, Yvan Dibango found Robert Ljubicic, who drilled in. Yet Liverpool swiftly restored their four-goal cushion as Barcola slammed into a gaping net after meeting Frimpong's cross.
Barcola went close with a cheeky lob as he hunted down a fourth, but the Reds did not have to wait long to score again, with Koumas tucking Frimpong's cross under Lukas Jungwirth. Dibango grabbed his second assist as he lobbed in for Florian Flecker to head into an open goal, with Van Dijk and Gomez again caught out.
Liverpool's defence was found wanting once more in the 77th minute. Dibango put another brilliant ball into the box, and Flecker hammered in, though there was to be no famous comeback for the Austrian champions.
Goals Galore as Star Signings Soar Liverpool suffered their first defeat under Iraola when they went down 3-0 to Manchester City last weekend, so a trip to a Champions League minnow was an ideal opportunity to get back on track. Iraola took the chance to rest Van Dijk from the start, naming Liverpool's third-youngest team in a Champions League game, but he stuck with Barcola and Wirtz, with the latter having come in for criticism from Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher in the wake of the defeat to Man City.