Lewis Koumas breaks Liverpool Champions League mark in LASK victory

Lewis Koumas has become Liverpool's youngest player to register both a goal and an assist in a Champions League match, achieving the milestone in Wednesday's 6-3 victory over LASK in Austria. BBC Sport reported that the 21-year-old Wales international surpassed a club mark previously held by Steven Gerrard, who had achieved the feat in 2001.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW5yHPSOpJU

Koumas had to wait for his goal in Linz after two earlier efforts were disallowed for offside. Bradley Barcola, who scored a hat-trick for Liverpool, was the first teammate to join him in celebrating in front of the visiting supporters. Koumas told the BBC he had remained determined to score as the match became more open and described the eventual breakthrough as the best feeling of his career.

The European appearance came three days after Koumas made his first Premier League start, against Manchester City. Liverpool were without the injured Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike for that game. With the score still 0-0, Barcola created an opportunity for Koumas, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved his shot in front of the Kop. Koumas said he struggled to sleep afterwards because he kept thinking about the chance.

His route into the current team has included several spells away from Anfield. He joined Liverpool at 11 and scored on his senior debut at 18 under Jurgen Klopp, before spending time on loan at Stoke, Birmingham and Hull. He helped Hull secure promotion last season. According to the BBC, Andoni Iraola decided during the opening week of pre-season to include Koumas in his Liverpool plans.

Koumas subsequently made his Premier League debut at Newcastle and appeared against Atletico Madrid in Europe. His first start of the season came against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, when he was named player of the match. Those opportunities preceded his consecutive starts against City and LASK.

Despite the milestone, Koumas emphasised that producing goals and assists was part of his responsibility. He said he needed to make the most of each opportunity and continue working to retain his place, acknowledging that Isak and Gakpo would return to contention. His goal in Austria was his first of the season.