All Liverpool needed was the third-placed team in the Austrian league to boost self-confidence after a heavy 3-0 loss at home to Manchester City. And the Reds got just what they needed – a quick and easy victory, without any injuries. LASK was no match for Areola’s men, and the guests needed just 15 minutes to put the game away, before they scored some more and ended the game with a 6-3 win. Apart from the whole team, this match was ideal personally for Bradley Barcola, who arrived with a 100 million mark on his back and faced criticism already. This was not the Premier League and the opponent was not Arsenal or City, but for a forward, any goal is a confidence boost and Barcola scored three of them tonight.Liverpool boss decided to mix his starting 11 and actually fielded quite a young squad, with an average age of 24 years and 186 days, which is actually their third-youngest ever in a Champions League. Trey Nyoni made his first Champions League start while Alexis Mac Allister stayed on the bench, along with Milos Kerkez and Virgil van Dijk. Jeremie Frimpong and Kostas Tsimikas got the nod, while Iraola decided to start young Lewis Koumas again up front. The fact that the score was 4-0 when both Gomez and Van Dijk entered the game, and that the game finished 6-3 feels a bit strange and maybe even worrying for Iraola.Just as the game started to unfold, Reds took the lead. It was 22nd minute when Tsimikas made an excellent cross, allowing Araujo to head the ball into the net. Just two minutes later, it was already 2-0. Ngumoha was the main man this time, creating a chance for Barcola, who routinely finished from 12 meters. The former PSG forward was involved with the third goal as well, but this time Florian Wirtz was the provider.The second half started with a decent chance from LASK, but Lang’s shot inside the penalty area went near the post in the 49th minute. Two minutes later, Frimpong scored from a header, while Tsimikas made his second assist of the night. LASK had an even better chance, but Danek’s shot was smothered by Alisson. The historical goal for LASK came in the 62nd minute when Ljubičić came in as a sub and scored literally seconds later. But that was the end of the Austrian team anyway as Barcola scored a hat trick to seal the game in the 66th minute. But that was not the end, as three more goals were scored until the 90th minute.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2WednesdayFeyenoord – Como 3-2 (1-1)/Zechiel 20, Moussa 52, Sanchez (og) 81 – Diao 18, Douvikas 90+3/LASK – Liverpool 3-6 (0-3)/Ljubicic 63, Flecker 74, 77 – Araujo 22, Barcola 24, 37, 66, Frimpong 51, Koumas 72/22.00: (1.70) Aston Villa (3.70) Fenerbahce (5.10)22.00: (2.20) Betis (3.45) Porto (3.25)22.00: (3.20) Bodo (4.00) Dortmund (2.10)22.00: (2.25) Man.City (3.60) PSG (3.05)22.00: (3.90) Roma (3.70) Real Madrid (1.90)22.00: (2.70) Shakhtar (3.35) AEK (2.60)22.00: (9.00) Slovan B. (5.90) Stuttgart (1.30)***odds are subject to change***
67