A mid-autumn trip to the sleepy Danubian city of Linz might not be the first outing to pop into mind when Liverpool fans look back on this era in several years – but it might just be an important checkpoint.
It was here in Austria’s third-largest city that the much-criticised £123million new boy Bradley Barcola got his Reds career off the mark with a slick hat-trick. And maybe for manager Andoni Iraola, it was the night the new manager’s style had its lift-off moment and all clicked together.
Another under-fire figure, Florian Wirtz, ran the show as the Reds put in a blistering, relentless display that choked the Austrian champions into submission. The scoreline was not reflective of Liverpool’s dominance on and off the ball.
They attacked at a breakneck speed and in merciless fashion, scoring three times in 16 first-half minutes, as Ronald Araujo’s 22nd-minute header started a rout that left poor LASK goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth looking like he wanted to tap out and go home.
The victory helped blow away the cobwebs of any potential post-Manchester City hangover and, above all, injected some much-needed confidence into the legs of Liverpool’s attackers ahead of three testing league assignments against Brentford, Brighton and champions Arsenal.
‘I’m really happy for Bradley, because you were asking me yesterday about him, not getting the numbers, also Florian, and both of them today played really, really well,’ said Iraola.
Bradley Barcola opened his Liverpool account with a hat-trick against LASK on Wednesday
Lewis Koumas scored his first goal of the season on a confidence-boosting evening for Reds
But Liverpool will look to back up a fine showing against European minnows in the league next
‘They made a difference. Bradley, apart from the hat-trick I thought he was a threat, always when one-on-one, certainly in behind and he helped us a lot to control the game, finding the pockets. I am happy for both of them.
‘For their confidence for sure, it’s very good. I think they feel now that we trust them a lot.
‘Bradley has to enjoy this. To score a hat-trick in the Champions League is always very difficult.
‘Even just in training, you could feel he was very lively, and sometimes you feel these things (are going to happen).’
Of course, this impressive performance will mean zero if it is not backed up in west London on Saturday. There have been glimpses of class in most games this season but the problem for new boss Iraola has been sustaining that high level or taking it into the next game.
Some will also point to the fact that this was LASK’s first-ever main-draw home game in the Champions League and argue Liverpool should be able to beat these rookies with ease. That might be true but let it take nothing away from the easy-on-the-eye performance.
After all, poor old Celtic rocked up here in the qualifying rounds and lost 5-1, a result that might be one to use in your next pub debate about where the Scottish champions would fare in English football.
Speaking of Glasgow, Barcola’s treble was the first away hat-trick for Liverpool since Mohamed Salah did so at Ibrox against Rangers four years ago. Barcola was unplayable and the away end sang about how he ‘runs down the wing for me’ to the tune of Buddy Holly’s Heartbeat.
In truth, he does a lot more than just making runs down the wing. He cuts inside, he can score goals, he is not selfish and enjoys link-up play, he is hard-working off the ball. Or, to summarise, he is a complete player who is a two-time European champion worth £123m for a reason.
Iraola was able to allow Barcola and fellow big-money attacker Wirtz to garner some belief in their ability after a week of being hounded from all quarters, while also giving a rest to some tired stars and handing out minutes to others.
Virgil van Dijk had to settle into the unfamiliar surroundings of the substitutes’ bench, the first league or Champions League game – that was not a meaningless dead-rubber – he had not started since September 2023, though he did come on to captain the Reds for a 200th time.
Jeremie Frimpong, severely lacking in confidence, scored one and assisted another two, while fellow full back Kostas Tsimikas, wearing the armband for an hour, managed two assists and proved his worth as a fine set-piece taker. Iraola will trust both more after this match.
And then there was the energetic, likeable local lad Lewis Koumas. The Wales international scored for the first time this season and, boy, did he deserve it after working his socks off and seeing two strikes chalked off for offside earlier on.
He had also made the assist for the first Barcola goal after canny work from 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha – one of two teenagers starting alongside Trey Nyoni. Barcola’s second showed his ingenuity to wriggle free from a defender, the third demonstrated his positional instinct.
LASK had a late rally with three late goals after Iraola had changed both centre backs, as substitute Florian Flecker scored two in three minutes.
Evidently, there are still a few minor teething problems for the new boss to iron out but this breathtaking attacking display will help.
