Barcola hits hat-trick as Liverpool beat LASK 6-3

Bradley Barcola nets first career hat-trick

Bradley Barcola scored the first hat-trick of his professional career during the match, recording his first goals for Liverpool since his summer transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The transfer fee for the player, who wears number 29, was £123 million, equivalent to $161 million.

Barcola had gone six appearances without a goal or assist since arriving at Anfield. He scored his first goal 96 seconds after Ronald Araujo’s 22nd-minute opener following an assist from Lewis Koumas. He added a second goal in the 37th minute after receiving a pass from Florian Wirtz.

The third goal, which completed his hat-trick, came in the 66th minute following a delivery from Jeremie Frimpong. This performance made Barcola the first Liverpool player to score a treble in any competition since Luis Diaz against Bayer Leverkusen in November 2024.

Liverpool sets first-half shooting record

Liverpool recorded 19 shots in the first half, setting a new record for an away team in the first half of a Champions League game. The team led 3-0 at halftime, the first time they held such a margin in a Champions League match since April 2018 against Manchester City.

The nine-goal thriller was Liverpool’s highest-scoring European match since the 2001 UEFA Cup final win over Alaves. The side finished the match having generated 26 shots and 3.34 expected goals.

Key contributions from Koumas, Araujo, Frimpong, and Tsimikas

Ronald Araujo scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 22nd minute by heading in a corner kick delivered by Kostas Tsimikas. Jeremie Frimpong scored in the 51st minute after heading in a cross from Tsimikas.

Tsimikas created six chances and provided two assists during the game. Lewis Koumas scored Liverpool’s sixth goal in the 72nd minute, becoming the youngest player to both score and assist in a Champions League game for the club, surpassing the record previously held by Steven Gerrard.

LASK response led by Yvan Dibango

LASK goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth saved an attempt from Florian Wirtz in the 11th minute. Robert Ljubicic scored for LASK in the 63rd minute following a ball from Yvan Dibango.

Florian Flecker scored twice in the second half, with his first goal coming from a delivery by Dibango. Yvan Dibango was involved in all three home goals recorded by LASK.

Andoni Iraola manages squad rotation

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola rotated his squad for the match, resting Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Victor Munoz. LASK is managed by Dietmar Kühbauer.

Iraola substituted Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez into centre-back in the 62nd minute, replacing Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo.

Offside goals and match context

Lewis Koumas had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and later had a second effort ruled out for the same reason. Ryan Gravenberch struck the inside of the post during the match.

The fixture took place following Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City the previous weekend, which was the team's first defeat under Andoni Iraola.