Bradley Barcola ended his goal drought in emphatic fashion, scoring a hat-trick as Liverpool defeated LASK 6-3 in a thrilling Champions League encounter on Wednesday.
The France forward had faced criticism over his performances following his £123 million move from Paris Saint-Germain in August. However, his three goals in Linz offered a timely response, marking his first goals for Liverpool in his seventh appearance.
Barcola’s performance also provided a boost for manager Andoni Iraola after Liverpool suffered a 3-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
The forward scored twice before half-time after Ronald Araujo had opened the scoring for Liverpool with his first goal for the club.aA
Araujo rose highest to head home Kostas Tsimikas’s corner in the 22nd minute, before Barcola doubled Liverpool’s lead just 96 seconds later.
Liverpool continued to dominate, with Barcola completing his brace in the 37th minute after combining with Florian Wirtz. The German midfielder returned Barcola’s pass with precision, allowing the 24-year-old to fire past LASK goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth.
The goals offered encouragement for Iraola, who had publicly expressed full confidence in Barcola and Wirtz despite their struggles to find consistent form.
Liverpool had also been without Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, increasing the pressure on the attacking duo to deliver.
Jeremie Frimpong extended Liverpool’s lead in the 51st minute, heading home Tsimikas’s cross to make it 4-0.
LASK pulled one back in the 63rd minute through Robert Ljubicic, who finished calmly after receiving a pass from Yvan Dibango.
Barcola restored Liverpool’s four-goal advantage three minutes later, completing his hat-trick with a composed finish from Frimpong’s pass.
Lewis Koumas then made it 6-1 in the 72nd minute with a powerful strike for his first Champions League goal.
However, Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses resurfaced in the closing stages. Despite the introduction of captain Virgil van Dijk and defender Joe Gomez, the visitors struggled to maintain control.
Florian Flecker scored twice in quick succession, first with a diving header in the 74th minute and then with a close-range finish in the 77th, reducing the deficit to 6-3.
Although the late goals exposed Liverpool’s defensive shortcomings, they could not overshadow Barcola’s outstanding performance.
The victory maintained Liverpool’s 100 per cent record in this season’s Champions League following their opening win against Atletico Madrid.
The trip to Austria was the second of six matches Liverpool were scheduled to play in 18 days, prompting Iraola to rotate his squad to manage fatigue.
Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz were among those rested, while Frimpong, Tsimikas, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha came into the starting line-up.
For Liverpool, Barcola’s hat-trick was a significant response to mounting criticism, while the team’s late defensive collapse offered Iraola another issue to address as the campaign progresses.