LASK Linz 3-6 Liverpool: Barcola bags hat-trick in 9-goal thriller as Reds seal 3 points

Liverpool's third-youngest ever UEFA Champions League starting line-up was more than a match for LASK Linz, as Bradley Barcola netted a hat-trick in a 6-3 victory that leaves the home side winless in their last 10 European games.

Match Report

Lewis Koumas has been an energetic presence for Liverpool in the absence of Alexander Isak, and he made a nuisance of himself early on, running onto a Jeremie Frimpong through ball. He rounded the goalkeeper, but the angle was always closing, and the Austrian defence was able to see it out for a corner. Florian Wirtz then went close, dancing through defenders in the box and almost squeezing his finish under the goalkeeper. The breakthrough looked inevitable, and it came through Ronald Araujo, who rose highest from a corner to head home his first goal for the club since arriving on loan from Barcelona. 

One became two in the blink of an eye. Rio Ngumoha ducked and weaved through the home side, and might have had a penalty shout. But the ball broke to Koumas, who shuttled it towards Barcola, with the Frenchman sweeping it home to open his Liverpool account as well. Koumas briefly thought he had got in on the action himself, swivelling sharply and slotting the ball into the corner, but he was narrowly offside. Ryan Gravenberch then struck the inside of the post as the hosts stayed in the contest by the skin of their teeth. Christoph Lang dragged an effort wide in a rare foray forward, but soon it was 3-0, as Barcola latched onto an excellent Wirtz pass and added his second of the game.

LASK looked a little livelier after the interval, and Lang continued to pose the biggest threat, flashing an effort narrowly wide of Alisson Becker’s post. But any distant hope was short-lived, as Frimpong scored the first headed goal of his career to extend the visitors’ advantage still further. The unfortunate Koumas was then denied by the offside flag for a second time, before substitute Robert Ljubicic pulled one back for the Austrians, controlling the ball with his first touch of the match and smashing it in with his second. 

But it was Liverpool’s night, and Barcola’s especially, with the 24-year-old sweeping in Frimpong’s cross to complete his first professional hat-trick. Koumas then finally got in on the action, collecting yet another Frimpong delivery and scuffing it through the goalkeeper’s legs to make it 6-1. There was another twist to come, however, with substitute Florian Flecker scoring a brace to peg it back to 6-3, going one better than his goal against the Merseysiders in 2023. He was on hand to head into an empty net at the far post with his first, before controlling a nice strike into the corner to irk Andoni Iraola and pose some kind of question in the closing stages.

But the Reds fended off any real threat of a comeback to move to 26 wins in their last 30 UCL group/league phase matches, while the wait for an Austrian side to beat an English opponent in a major European competition looks set to extend beyond 35 years.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

5' Danger for Liverpool as Alisson plays a loose ball and LASK jump on it to win the first corner!

9' Barcola goes inside to Nyoni and he tries to reverse a ball back to Barcola but puts too much on it!

11' Florian Wirtz shows great footwork to dance past his man before firing an effort at Lukas Jungwirth!

19' Wirtz threads it through for Barcola, but first touch isn't great and offside flag comes to his aid!

22' GOAL! Araujo gets up highest from Tsimikas' cross and powers into corner! LASK Linz 0-1 Liverpool

24' GOAL! Ngumoha drops to deck and Barcola sweeps home for his first for Reds! LASK Linz 0-2 Liverpool

31' Lewis Koumas with a lovely finish but he's just strayed offside!

32' Ryan Gravenberch has just slammed one off the base of the post!

35' Barcola rolls it through legs of Adeniran and shapes one towards far corner but it takes deflection!

36' Attack from LASK ends with Lang finding space for a strike but he drags it wide of Alisson's post!

37' GOAL! Wirtz turns and slides Barcola through with a beauty of a ball! LASK Linz 0-3 Liverpool

45' Wirtz goes for the curler but Lukas Jungwirth saves!

48' Lang strikes it well and Alisson have worried for a moment but it flies the wrong side of the post!

51' GOAL! Jeremie Frimpong rises like a salmon and heads into the bottom corner! LASK Linz 0-4 Liverpool

53' Koumas tucked the ball into the bottom corner for the second time but it's the same result offside!

60' Krystof Danek aims one towards the bottom corner but Alisson is alert and makes the save!

63' GOAL! Ljubicic fires a finish past Alisson who is fuming with his defence! LASK Linz 1-4 Liverpool

66' GOAL! Frimpong squares it for Barcola at the far post, for his hat-trick! LASK Linz 1-5 Liverpool

69' Bradley Barcola lifts it over Lukas Jungwirth but there's not enough on it to take it over the line!

72' GOAL! Lewis Koumas strikes it first time past the helpless Lukas Jungwirth! LASK Linz 1-6 Liverpool

74' GOAL! Dibango lifts it over and Flecker flying in with the diving header! LASK Linz 2-6 Liverpool

77' GOAL! Flecker slots it into the far corner for his second of the evening! LASK Linz 3-6 Liverpool

Line-ups

LASK Linz XI: A. Schöpf, Andrés Andrade, Melayro Bogarde, Xavier Mbuyamba, Samuel Adeniran, Kasper Jørgensen, Krystof Danek, Lukas Jungwirth, Christoph Lang, Yvan Dibango, João Tornich

Subs: Tobias Schützenauer, Sasa Kalajdzic, Florian Flecker, Robert Ljubicic, Daniel Elfadli, Miguel Freckleton, Fabian Schillinger, Nael Kane, Manoël Verhaeghe

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Tsimikas, Araujo, Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, Barcola, Wirtz, Trey Nyoni, Jérémy Jacquet, Lewis Koumas, Rio Ngumoha

Subs: Van Dijk, Freddie Woodman, Joe Gomez, Mac Allister, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Milos Kerkez, Luke Chambers, Víctor Muñoz, James McConnell, Wellity Lucky, Jayden Danns, Joshua Sonni-Lambie