Liverpool’s first away night of their Champions League campaign became a nine-goal spectacle in Austria, with Bradley Barcola’s hat-trick driving Andoni Iraola’s heavily rotated side to a 6-3 victory over LASK.
Víctor Muñoz and Virgil van Dijk were among those held back on the bench as Liverpool changed their starting line-up, but the visitors quickly established control. Two goals arrived in the space of two minutes: Araujo opened the scoring with a header before Barcola struck with his right foot.
Barcola then made it three with another impressive finish, this time from his left foot, completing his double before the interval. Liverpool’s attacking depth continued to show after the restart when Jeremie Frimpong produced a difficult headed finish to add a fourth.
LASK found a response through Ljubicic and briefly gave the home support something to hold on to, but Liverpool had further attacking rewards to collect. Barcola returned to complete his hat-trick, while Koumas scored his first goal for the club in the same late spell.
The Austrian side did not stop fighting. Flecker headed in their second goal and then struck again to complete his own double, ensuring the final scoreline reflected LASK’s persistence even as Liverpool left with a commanding European away win.
