Bradley Barcola’s clinical hat-trick inspires Liverpool to 6-3 rout at LASK

Liverpool cleansed themselves from the stains of defeat by Manchester City at the earliest opportunity. A rampant performance in Austria, where Bradley Barcola opened his account for Andoni Iraola’s side with a hat-trick, maintained Liverpool’s 100-per-cent start to the Champions League and shattered LASK’s big night on the elite European stage.

Iraola defended the majority of Liverpool’s display against City, the club’s £123-million signing from Paris Saint-Germain and the effectiveness of Florian Wirtz before the return to European action. His faith and confidence were rewarded as his team routed limited opponents who may have surprised themselves to score three in consolation. Barcola hit his stride in a Liverpool shirt with Ronald Araújo also scoring his first goal for the club on a restorative evening in Linz.