Liverpool made it six points from two Champions League league-phase games with a 6-3 win away at LASK on Wednesday night. Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick for his first goals for the club and the first treble of his senior career, with Ronald Araujo, Jeremie Frimpong and Lewis Koumas also on the scoresheet.
Overnight the club added colour rather than a new scoreline: Barcola was voted liverpoolfc.com Player of the Match, and he is now the 13th player to score a hat-trick for Liverpool in the European Cup.
Barcola: MOTM and European Cup hat-trick club
Barcola’s goals came in the 24th, 37th and 66th minutes, set up by Koumas, Florian Wirtz and Frimpong. The club notes the previous European Cup hat-trick for Liverpool was Luis Diaz against Bayer Leverkusen in November 2024. BBC Sport’s overnight player ratings gave Barcola a 9.
Tsimikas: first competitive captaincy
Kostas Tsimikas wore the armband in a competitive match for the first time with Virgil van Dijk rested until the 62nd minute, and he assisted Araujo’s opener and Frimpong’s header. The club quoted his Instagram afterwards: representing his dream club on a Champions League night as captain, with a win and assists — “Little Kostas, we made it happen, kid… Dreams can come true… I am so grateful.”
Koumas on his CL goal and Barcola
Koumas told liverpoolfc.com he was really happy to score at “the highest level of football” after two earlier finishes were chalked off for offside, and that the bounce-back from Sunday’s City defeat mattered. On Barcola: settling in after moving country is tough, “but in the changing room we all know how good he is” — “He’s an unbelievable talent and I’m sure he’ll be unreal for Liverpool.” He became only the second Liverpool player aged 21 or younger to score and assist in a Champions League match, after Steven Gerrard away at Dynamo Kyiv in October 2001.
Injuries: still no fresh date
Nothing new overnight on Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo or Dominik Szoboszlai. The club injury list remains “Last updated on October 12”. Andoni Iraola’s Tuesday line still stands: the three are “not far”, none had trained with the group, and he could not say whether they would be ready for Brentford, Villarreal or Brighton. Ryan Gravenberch serves his one-match ban at Brentford on Saturday. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni remain long-term absentees.
Iraola presser today; Brentford next
Iraola previews Saturday’s trip to Brentford in a press conference at the AXA Training Centre from 12pm UK today, streamed free on the club’s YouTube page — the first chance of a fresh injury line before the weekend. All times UK: Saturday 17 October, Brentford v Liverpool, 3pm at the Gtech Community Stadium. Tuesday 20 October, Liverpool v Villarreal, Champions League, 8pm at Anfield. Sunday 25 October, Liverpool v Brighton, 2pm. Wednesday 28 October, Liverpool v Chelsea, Carabao Cup fourth round, 8pm.
Transfers: quiet at the top tier
David Ornstein and Paul Joyce were silent on Liverpool overnight. There is no fresh update on Alex Scott beyond Tuesday’s BBC Sport report that Bournemouth are open to a January sale around £100m, with Liverpool and Chelsea believed to retain interest — still no bid reported, and one to watch rather than a move in the making. No credible ownership, FSG, investment or first-team staffing news overnight.