Liverpool Player Ratings vs. LASK: Barcola Announces Himself in Thumping Victory

Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick for Liverpool as they secured an action-packed 6–3 victory away at LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Reds required a reaction following Sunday’s implosion at the hands of Manchester City and two quick-fire goals midway through the first half lifted their spirits. Summer recruits Ronald Araújo and Barcola opened their accounts with clinical finishes in the space of two minutes, before the latter doubled his tally shortly before halftime.

Liverpool continued to hammer home their superiority after the restart, despite some sloppy defending allowing Robert Ljubičić and Florian Flecker (twice) to get on the scoresheet for the home side.

Jeremie Frimpong’s header marked the fourth of the match for Andoni Iraola’s team, before Barcola tapped in the Dutchman’s cross to clinch the match ball. There was also time for Lewis Koumas to net his first-ever Champions League goal amid a flurry of second-half strikes.

After beating Atlético Madrid in their league phase opener, the Reds have now claimed maximum points from their two European outings this season.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

There had only been brief glimpses of the talent which tempted Liverpool to spend up to $166 million on Bradley Barcola before the trip to the Raiffeisen Arena. Six outings had yielded zero goal involvements and only the occasional moment of inspiration.

But it proved seventh time lucky for Barcola in Austria as he ran riot against admittedly weak opposition.

The Frenchman, like many of his teammates, produced a breathless performance as Liverpool sauntered to a morale-boosting victory. Obviously, the first-half strikes fired beyond Lukas Jungwirth will steal focus—as they should following criticism of his end product.

Barcola’s first-time finish into the far corner offered Liverpool their two-goal margin and 12 minutes later he notched a similarly accomplished second. After collecting Florian Wirtz’s fizzed pass inside the area with a sublime touch, the Frenchman casually converted on his weaker left foot.

One goal had Barcola purring. The second had him beaming with self-belief.

This was the level witnessed previously at Paris Saint-Germain, with Barcola taunting LASK defenders with some astonishing footwork. Nutmegs, backheels and dazzling dribbles were on show as the Frenchman consistently bamboozled those who dared to try and dispossess him. Eventually, he netted the hat-trick his performance deserved.

Of course, caution must be issued given the low level of opposition, but this could be the moment Barcola’s Liverpool career sparks to life.

Liverpool Player Ratings vs. LASK (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Alisson—6.0: Justifiably furious with the defense in front of him following LASK’s second-half goals, none of which he could have prevented.

RB: Jeremie Frimpong—9.0: Scored his first of the campaign with a surprisingly high leap and accurate far-post header. Followed that up with pinpoint crosses to assist Barcola and Koumas, before some poor defending helped LASK score their third.

CB: Ronald Araújo—8.3: Used his towering frame to power Liverpool ahead and was seldom forced out of second gear when defending.

CB: Jérémy Jacquet—6.9: Made things look ever so easy against LASK’s attacking players, all of whom were comfortably rebuffed by the Frenchman.

LB: Kostas Tsimikas—8.8: Despite his obvious flaws, one thing Tsimikas can still provide is a wicked cross, and his excellent deliveries assisted Araújo and Frimpong.

CM: Trey Nyoni—7.3: The 19-year-old showed impressive composure on his first Champions League start, always wanting possession and rarely giving it away.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch—7.5: After his costly red card at the weekend, Gravenberch stole attention for the right reasons here. Crashed the inside of the post and proved a constant threat when bombing forward.

RW: Rio Ngumoha—7.4: Repeatedly skated by LASK defenders with ease, including one terrific run which led to the second goal. Showcased his sky-high potential with some ridiculous dribbles.

AM: Florian Wirtz—8.7: Amid intensifying scrutiny, this was easily Wirtz’s best performance of the campaign. Took up some tantalizing positions in between the lines and was much tidier with his distribution than against Man City.

LW: Bradley Barcola—9.7: Lift-off for Barcola, who scored his first senior hat-trick. Some devastating tricks and flicks made a mockery of LASK’s defense, too.

ST: Lewis Koumas—8.4: Buzzed around with the intensity which has swiftly earned him Iraola’s trust and grabbed an assist by keeping the ball alive before Barcola swept home his first. Unfortunate to score two offside goals, but finally scored his first European goal after the break.

SUB: Virgil van Dijk (62’ for Jacquet)—6.1: Really poor when coming on as Liverpool’s defense stopped trying.

SUB: Joe Gomez (62’ for Araújo)—6.1: Struggled alongside his captain as LASK threw caution to the wind.

SUB: Victor Muñoz (73’ for Barcola)—6.4: Not overly involved during a quiet cameo.

SUB: Alexis Mac Allister (85’ for Nyoni)—N/A

SUB: Luke Chambers (85’ for Ngumoha)—N/A

Subs not used: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Freddie Woodman (GK), Wellity Lucky, Milos Kerkez, James McConnell, Joshua Sonni-Lambie, Jayden Danns.

What the Ratings Tell Us

• Liverpool’s young guns sparkled when gifted their European opportunity. Rio Ngumoha was a constant live wire in the final third, conjuring chances with his turbo-charged darts to the byline, while Koumas was also heavily involved with some impressive center forward play and a well-taken goal. Trey Nyoni deserves a shout-out as well following a mature performance in midfield.
• There has been a harsh spotlight shone on the underperforming Wirtz, but he eased the pressure with a super performance in Austria. As well as his assist, the German was a consistent menace deep in LASK territory, and will hope to replicate this display away at Brentford this weekend.
• There were some lapses in concentration from Liverpool’s backup fullbacks during the second half, yet they deserve huge credit for their attacking performances. Tsimikas and Frimpong managed two assists each with some delightful deliveries for teammates, while the latter also popped up with a goal.

The Numbers That Explain Liverpool’s Triumph

• Liverpool were utterly dominant throughout against the competition debutants, especially in the final third. They created 3.34 expected goals and five big chances.
• The Reds will be disappointed to have conceded three times for the second match running, and they gave up 2.02 expected goals in Linz.
• Iraola’s starting XI was Liverpool’s third-youngest in the Champions League, with an average age of just 24 years and 186 days.