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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.
Scotland v England - 150th Anniversary Heritage Match
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Andoni Iraola smiles while addressing his players during a Liverpool training sessions at the AXA Training Centre
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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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Why Bradley Barcola did not want to do any interviews after scoring his first Liverpool goals
James Brooke
LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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Bradley Barcola will be a relieved man after finally paying back some of his £123m transfer fee by scoring a Champions League hat-trick on Wednesday.
Concerns had been growing over Barcola and his lack of output after the Frenchman failed to do anything much across his first six appearances for Liverpool.
Thankfully for him, his seventh was fantastic, and the hope will be that the pressure is now off Barcola as he settles into life on Merseyside. Part of that process will be to improve his English and communicate better with his teammates, and, as he confirmed to reporters desperate for a comment after his star turn against LASK, that is still a work in progress.
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
Barcola still needs to improve his English
Barcola has done some interviews since his arrival at Liverpool in August, but they have exclusively been delivered in French so far.
We have heard one or two words of English as he greets his fellow Reds, but it is clear that Barcola joined the club without speaking the language.
As The Athletic report, that was on display in the mixed zone at the Raiffeisen Arena, where the Frenchman is said to have walked through with the match ball stored in a Liverpool FC carrier bag.
“In English? No, sorry, it’s not good enough,” Barcola reportedly told journalists waiting to hear what he had to say after scoring his first Liverpool goals.
If he manages to keep this kind of form going, he won’t be able to hold them at bay for long, English or not. In the meantime, hopefully he can get the lessons in and, maybe with a little help from Hugo Ekitike, finally address his new fans in their native tongue.