Scotland v England - 150th Anniversary Heritage Match
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Linz, Austria – October 14: Bradley Barcola of Liverpool FC celebrates after scoring his teams fifth Goal during the UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 match between LASK and Liverpool at Oberösterreich Arena on October 14, 2026 in Linz, Austria.
Andoni Iraola smiles while addressing his players during a Liverpool training sessions at the AXA Training Centre
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FBL-EUR-C1-LASK-LIVERPOOL
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Liverpool’s Champions League player ratings vs LASK as Bradley Barcola runs riot in Linz](https://www.rousingthekop.com/2026/10/14/liverpools-champions-league-player-ratings-vs-lask-as-reds-run-riot-in-linz/)
Trey Nyoni pictured on the ball during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against LASK
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Bradley Barcola pictured after scoring for Liverpool during their UEFA Champions League match against LASK Linz
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Cody Gakpo pictured in action during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
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LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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Few Liverpool players have been put under as much scrutiny as Florian Wirtz during the early part of what has been another difficult season for him so far.
The German had been expected to step up under Andoni Iraola after a lukewarm first season at Anfield, but up until Wednesday’s Champions League game against LASK, he had spectacularly failed to deliver.
Jamie Carragher has been notably critical of Wirtz, and after a ghosting during the defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, the LASK clash gave him a chance to turn it on against lesser opposition. Turn it on Wirtz certainly did, for the first half at least, with former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson praising his willingness to keep putting the effort in.
Here's our player ratings! Who deserves higher or, perhaps, even lower? 🤔
### Liverpool’s Champions League player ratings vs LASK as Bradley Barcola runs riot in Linz
@martywebb777 Both played well to be fair, although poor for the goals, especially Frimpong. Can't knock them too much on a night where they got four assists and a goal between them. Just thought the organisation completely went from the defence, and that is on Virgil really. Gomez took a stray because the drop off coincided with him coming on as well!
strange that our 2 full backs who couldn't defend if their lives depended on it, get off scott free, unlike Vab Dijk and Gomez, who only came on late, and actually know how to defend...
Rio, Koumas and Barcola all deserve to go up a number in my opinion, was a top class display up there, didn’t give that defence a second to relax
Wirtz praised for never hiding as Liverpool win big
For all of his poor performances, one thing that can never be levelled at Wirtz is that he does not get around the pitch. The 23-year-old consistently tops Liverpool’s charts for distance covered during matches, and did so again on Wednesday, just pipping Lewis Koumas to first place.
Told that it was Wirtz and Koumas who ran the hardest and the farthest in Austria while appearing on The Official Liverpool FC Podcast post-game, Thompson praised the underfire No. 7 in particular.
“Isn’t it nice when you’ve got two forward players who ran the most,” he said. “I know for all sorts of Florian Wirtz and performance level things, he never hides.
“You can see how many kilometres he’s run every single game. Whether he’s had a good game or not, he still puts the effort in.”
READ MORE: PSG stars react to Bradley Barcola’s Liverpool hat-trick after dismantling Man City in the Champions League
Touching on Wirtz’s performance with the ball, Thompson claimed that he had been ‘sensational’ during the first-half, in what had arguably been his best period in a Liverpool shirt.
“Wirtz was obviously pulling the strings for everybody,” he said. “That’s the best 45 minutes I have seen from Florian Wirtz. He was sensational.
“He had great link up play with Barcola, then you have to think he’s getting it with Isak, if we bring Barcola into the equation, how good is that going to be.”
Iraola praises Wirtz display
Thompson was not the only one pleased with Wirtz’s performance in Linz, with Iraola also pleased to see an improvement from the Germany international.
“Yeah, I think he was amazing in possession,” the Liverpool head coach told CBS Sports Golazo.
“I think he had lovely passes, good assists. He helped us to control the game today, especially first half. We were basically in their half more freely roaming around a little bit and finding good spots and it’s a good game from Florian.”
There are still improvements to be had, and Wirtz could not keep up his influence for the full 90 minutes, but this was certainly a step in the right direction after so many weeks of setbacks.