Barcola hat-trick leads Liverpool to 6-3 Champions League win at LASK

Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick as Liverpool won 6-3 away to LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday. The victory in Linz brought his first goals for the club following his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, according to Ritzau's report, published by Tipsbladet. Ronald Araujo, Jeremie Frimpong and Lewis Koumas also scored.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3cFSuDEIEY

Andoni Iraola had changed four players in his starting side. Liverpool's official team announcement confirmed that Kostas Tsimikas took the captain's armband, with Frimpong, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha also coming into the team. Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Milos Kerkez and Victor Munoz made way, giving the visitors a different line-up for their European assignment at the Raiffeisen Arena.

Liverpool established a three-goal lead before half-time. The club's match commentary recorded Araujo's opener in the 22nd minute, followed by Barcola's first two minutes later. Barcola added another in the 37th minute after Florian Wirtz found him with a reverse pass into the penalty area. He controlled the ball before finishing across goal, leaving LASK with a substantial deficit at the interval.

The scoring continued after the break. The match record published by 101GreatGoals lists Frimpong's goal in the 51st minute and Robert Ljubicic's reply for LASK in the 63rd. Barcola completed his treble three minutes later, before Koumas made it six for Liverpool in the 72nd minute. Florian Flecker then scored twice for the hosts, in the 74th and 77th minutes.

The result followed Liverpool's 3-0 home defeat by Manchester City on Sunday. In the club's account of that match, Ryan Gravenberch's dismissal for a second yellow card preceded goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki. Liverpool therefore returned to winning ways in Austria after suffering their first defeat of the season at Anfield.

Wednesday's meeting also extended Liverpool's winning record against LASK. UEFA's pre-match statistics identified their only previous encounters as two Europa League group games in 2023-24, both won by Liverpool: 3-1 in Austria and 4-0 at Anfield. This latest victory came in the Champions League, with Barcola contributing half of Liverpool's six goals.