Lask 3-6 Liverpool: Ljubicic 63, Flecker 74, 77; Araujo 22, Barcola 24, 37, 66, Frimpong 51, Koumas 72
Bradley Barcola scored the first hat-trick of his career as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 6-3 Champions League victory over Lask in Austria on Wednesday.
The France international struck twice in the first half before completing his treble after the break, while Ronald Araujo, Jeremie Frimpong and Lewis Koumas also scored for Andoni Iraola’s side. Liverpool’s attacking dominance was rarely in doubt, although two late goals from substitute Florian Flecker exposed defensive weaknesses and made the final score less comfortable than the performance had suggested.
Liverpool arrived in Austria looking to respond to their first defeat of the season, a loss to Manchester City on Sunday. Iraola made several changes to his starting line-up, resting Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Brentford.
The visitors took time to turn their superiority into goals, but the breakthrough arrived midway through the first half. Lask goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth and defender Alemao failed to deal with a corner, allowing Araujo to rise above his marker and direct Kostas Tsimikas’s delivery into the net for his first Liverpool goal.
Barcola ended his own wait for a goal in the Liverpool shirt less than two minutes later. Rio Ngumoha drove into the attacking third before Lewis Koumas laid the ball into the winger’s path, allowing him to sweep a first-time finish beyond Jungwirth.
The £123m summer signing had faced questions after six appearances without a goal or an assist, but he quickly demonstrated the quality that persuaded Liverpool to bring him from Paris Saint-Germain.
His second goal arrived before the interval, with Florian Wirtz supplying the pass. The German midfielder found Barcola’s run into the penalty area, and the forward calmly finished past the exposed goalkeeper to put Liverpool firmly in control.
Lask struggled to contain the visitors’ movement and passing, with Liverpool creating chances at a relentless rate. Koumas thought he had scored before the break, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside, while Ryan Gravenberch struck the inside of the post.
Liverpool had registered 19 attempts by half-time, underlining the extent of their control against opponents who found it difficult to retain possession or deal with the visitors’ attacking combinations.
The pattern continued after the restart. Frimpong, operating at right-back, rose to meet another Tsimikas delivery and headed into the bottom corner to make it 4-0 six minutes into the second half.
Lask briefly found a response when substitute Robert Ljubicic finished inside Alisson’s near post, but Liverpool soon restored their four-goal advantage. Ngumoha released Frimpong down the right, and the defender’s low cross travelled across the six-yard box for Barcola to convert at the far post and complete his hat-trick.
Koumas then got the goal his performance deserved. After Lask were caught trying to play out from the back, Frimpong supplied the ball for the midfielder to finish from close range, making it 6-1 and registering his first goal in the Champions League.
The 21-year-old had twice seen efforts disallowed for offside, but his eventual strike capped an impressive display on his first start in the competition. He also became Liverpool’s youngest player to score and provide an assist in a Champions League match, surpassing Steven Gerrard’s record.
The hosts refused to surrender completely, however. Flecker scored twice in the closing stages, with Yvan Dibango providing the assists for both goals within four minutes.
