Bradley Barcola left LASK’s Raiffeisen Arena with the match ball tucked safely inside a Liverpool-branded carrier bag after finally announcing himself at Anfield with a stunning hat-trick in Wednesday’s 6-3 Champions League victory.
The 24-year-old, Liverpool’s marquee summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain, had failed to score in his first six appearances since joining in a deal worth up to £123million.
Barcola became just the fifth Liverpool player to score an away hat-trick in Europe’s elite club competition, joining Mohamed Salah (Rangers, 2022), Diogo Jota (Atalanta, 2020), Sadio Mane (Porto, 2018) and Michael Owen (Spartak Moscow, 2002).
Liverpool paid an initial £106million for Barcola in August, with a further £17million in potential add-ons, making him the club’s second-most expensive signing behind Virgil van Dijk, who joined from Southampton for £75million in January 2018.
The Liverpool captain knows the pressure that comes with a record-breaking transfer fee and can relate to the expectations surrounding the French forward.
“Yeah, you can share experiences for sure,” Van Dijk said. “It’s about helping each other to succeed. We’re in it together. Bradley is getting into it now. He’ll be absolutely fine.”
“It’s massive for him,” the 35-year-old added. “He’s very introverted anyway. He won’t express his feelings too much but everyone knows that will help him so much. Hopefully there are many more hat-tricks to come.
“It’s about creating the environment where he can express himself on the pitch. As a footballer, you always want to be out there, showing what you can do.
“For him, scoring goals is a big part of his game. To get a hat-trick in the Champions League is a great thing for him and for us. Now it’s time to go recover. We don’t have too much time before we face Brentford in another tough game on Saturday.”
Barcola became just the sixth player to open his Liverpool scoring account with a hat-trick, with Divock Origi the last to achieve the feat in 2015.
The Frenchman enjoyed the kind of time and space against LASK that is rarely afforded in the Premier League. Saturday’s trip to Brentford will provide a much sterner test.
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