Bradley Barcola scored his first goal for Liverpool against LASK in the Champions League, and quickly followed it up by completing an impressive first senior hat-trick
Bradley Barcola scored a Champions League hat-trick for Liverpool against LASK.
Bradley Barcola scored a Champions League hat-trick for Liverpool against LASK.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola could feel it coming, he claimed. Though Bradley Barcola had never scored a senior hat-trick before, the Liverpool boss had full faith in his $163 million (£123 million) forward.
Soon after Barcola had netted his first against LASK, the second and third arrived. Iraola, who had spoken warmly about Barcola and another heavily scrutinized Liverpool man, Florian Wirtz, in the build-up, saw the pair both come to the fore. Alongside the excellent Lewis Koumas and Rio Ngumoha, they left their mark in a 6-3 victory.
Quite how much you can read into a win against a team that could well finish bottom of the 36-team Champions League mega group can be debated — the Austrians would likely get relegated were they playing in the Premier League — but this should be a confidence boost at the very least.
When Liverpool takes to the field at Brentford on Saturday, the conversation will also have moved on a little. Barcola, you could say, now has a record of three goals in his opening seven games in a Reds jersey. Wirtz just doubled his assist tally for the current campaign.
The stats don't tell the full story, and much more is required of the pair, clearly, but this was a step forward. If nothing else, it was a reminder of what they are capable of when they are performing against an opponent that suits them.
Much more significant than individual performances, though, was the fact that Liverpool moved onto six points in the Champions League group phase.
LINZ, AUSTRIA - OCTOBER 14: Andoni Iraola, Manager of Liverpool, speaks to the media in a post-match press conference following the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2 match between LASK and Liverpool FC at Oberösterreich Arena on October 14, 2026 in Linz, Austria. (Photo by Jasmin Walter - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola speaks to the media after Liverpool's 6-3 Champions League success over LASK(Image: Jasmin Walter - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Nine teams have won each of their opening two fixtures in the competition — four of whom have done so with a better goal difference than Andoni Iraola's side.
But Bodo/Glimt and Benfica progressed to the knockout phase with nine points last year (Liverpool is already two-thirds of the way there), and Manchester City came eighth — avoiding the play-off round — with 16 points.
Given that Liverpool has already played Atletico Madrid — its toughest opponent — and has Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Club Brugge, Porto, Inter Milan, and Lens to come, it looks well placed.
And even beyond the quality of the opposition still to come, Iraola saw that his side was more than capable of dealing with him, making several changes to his starting XI.
Content Image
Content Image
"(Koumas and Trey Nyoni) are first-team players because we trust them and we think they can give us the level to help during the season," Iraola said. "I'm very happy for their performances."
Should the pair start the majority of Liverpool's remaining European games in the rest of the group phase, that should not be a concern to anyone.
And, given the threadbare nature of the Liverpool roster, being able to rotate — in part because of facing beatable opponents, and also because of the youngsters proving themselves — can only be a major advantage in the Premier League too.
Barcola's hat-trick fired Liverpool to a big win, and it now sits on six points from six. Soon, Iraola should be able to eye up even more rotation amid a relentless schedule that might otherwise have been a much bigger problem.