LASK 3-6 Liverpool: Goals galore
LASK v Liverpool · Champions League · 14 October 2026
Liverpool break away from their Austrian opposition to score six on a European night.
Nine goals in Linz, and a rotated Liverpool side put six of them away. The Reds were 4-0 up and cruising before LASK got anything at all — every one of their three goals came after that. A hat-trick for Barcola, a record for Koumas, and a goal and two assists from Frimpong.
First half: direct and aggressive from minute one
LASK set up in a low block — FotMob logs their shape as a 5-4-1, and it shifted into something closer to a 5-3-2 in possession. What pleased me most is that Liverpool didn’t sit and probe at it. Even at 0-0 they played direct and aggressively, with Wirtz trying to slide passes and through balls into the gaps rather than recycling it sideways.
The full-backs overlapped and worked with the wingers all night, and the spacing was immense — that is what pulls a back five apart.
Wirtz himself looked aggressive, trying things that were tenacious and almost arrogant. That is exactly what we want to see from him.
The breakthrough came from a corner we forced: Araújo headed in on 22 minutes, from a Tsimikas delivery, for his first goal in a Liverpool shirt. Two minutes later Rio drove down the wing, Koumas teed it up, and Barcola had his first in a Reds kit. By 38 minutes Barcola had his second, this time off the link-up with Wirtz. Half time: 3-0, and it could have been more — Koumas had a goal chalked off for offside, and Gravenberch hit the inside of the post.
LASK folded fast once Liverpool started to impose their will on the game, and we finally saw what Barcola is all about. That was him coming into his own and gaining real confidence going forward, which hopefully carries into the weekend when we take on the Brentford Bees.
Second half: the floodgates, both ways
Frimpong made it 4-0 on 51 minutes with a header, again from a Tsimikas cross to the back post. At that point it was a question of how many.
LASK got one back through Ljubicic on 63 minutes, but Liverpool answered almost immediately: Frimpong’s low driven cross found Barcola for his hat-trick on 66. Six minutes later Frimpong set up Koumas for 6-1.
Flecker then scored twice late, on 74 and 77 minutes, to make the scoreline look closer than the game was.
| Liverpool | LASK | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 6 | 3 |
| Half time | 3 | 0 |
| Scorers | Araújo 22’, Barcola 24’, 38’, 66’, Frimpong 51’, Koumas 72’ | Ljubicic 63’, Flecker 74’, 77’ |
Source: Liverpool FC match report and football-data.org.
What the numbers say
Understat doesn’t cover the Champions League, so the xG here comes from FotMob’s model rather than the one behind the league charts elsewhere on this site. The two models aren’t directly comparable, but within this match the numbers tell the story well enough.
| LASK | Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 36% | 64% |
| Expected goals (xG) | 2.04 | 3.24 |
| Shots | 12 | 26 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 9 |
| Big chances | 5 | 5 |
| Corners | 3 | 11 |
Source: FotMob.
Split by half, it reads like two different games:
In the first half Liverpool had 71% of the ball, 19 shots to five, and LASK didn’t register a single shot on target. After the break it was almost even: seven shots each, four on target each, and LASK actually edged the xG 1.71 to 1.64.
Koumas writes himself into the record books
A goal and an assist on the night, and with it a piece of history. Opta make Koumas, at 21 years and 25 days, the youngest player ever to score and assist in the same Champions League match for Liverpool — younger than Steven Gerrard, who was 21 years and 139 days when he did it against Dynamo Kyiv in October 2001.
He also had two goals ruled out for offside, one in each half, after drifting across the pitch to get on the end of things. The timing on the runs needs work, but the movement is there — and the onside goal was great to see for his confidence.
Koumas has taken over the back-up striker spot well. Finally thrust into action against City and LASK, he was able to show his tenacity and use it as a catalyst to press and win the ball back for the Reds in opportune situations. I believe Koumas will play again on Saturday, with Isak coming on later in the game, and possibly Wirtz as well.
The ratings
FotMob’s player ratings for the night, with Liverpool lined up in a 4-2-3-1:
| Player | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Bradley Barcola | 9.7 | 3 goals, player of the match |
| Jeremie Frimpong | 9.0 | 1 goal, 2 assists |
| Konstantinos Tsimikas | 8.8 | 2 assists |
| Florian Wirtz | 8.6 | 1 assist |
| Lewis Koumas | 8.4 | 1 goal, 1 assist |
| Ronald Araújo | 8.3 | 1 goal |
| Rio Ngumoha | 7.6 | |
| Ryan Gravenberch | 7.4 | hit the post |
| Trey Nyoni | 7.3 | |
| Jérémy Jacquet | 6.9 | |
| Víctor Muñoz (sub) | 6.3 | |
| Joe Gomez (sub) | 6.1 | |
| Virgil van Dijk (sub) | 6.1 | |
| Alisson | 6.0 |
Source: FotMob. Ratings are FotMob’s own model.
Worth noting at the other end: LASK’s Yvan Dibango was rated 9.3 and set up all three of their goals.
Tsimikas, Frimpong and Barcola
Tsimikas captained the side and provided two assists, both from wide deliveries, for Araújo and Frimpong. A far better showing than the one he had against Fulham.
Frimpong finished with a goal and two assists. The header for 4-0, the low cross for Barcola’s third, and the delivery for Koumas’s goal.
Barcola had a hat-trick and endless joy down his side. The pace is crazy, and against a back five that had to keep shuffling across, he was the one who kept getting in behind.
Overall everyone played fairly well for the Reds. There were no glaring bad performances in the side, and if anything the players who needed a good shift put one in — hopefully that inspires something going into the weekend.
The one blemish: three goals conceded
Liverpool made a double change on 62 minutes, Van Dijk on for Jacquet and Gomez on for Araújo. All three LASK goals came after that, starting with Ljubicic’s a minute later. The second-half numbers back up the eye test: LASK created 1.71 xG after the break having managed 0.33 before it, and both substituted centre-backs came off with a 6.1 rating. The defending wasn’t good enough, which is the one thing to take out of an otherwise excellent night.
I can’t complain much about this. We made some changes and let in some goals — you don’t like to see it, but when you put six past the keeper at the other end, you live with it.
Where it leaves them
Two games, two wins, six points, and fifth in the league phase with eight scored and four conceded. LASK are 33rd and still without a point.
The rotation worked. With a friendlier Champions League schedule and games every few days, this is the template for getting through the fixture pile-up — and the reward is a squad arriving at Brentford on Saturday with momentum instead of tired legs.
My preview called 3-1 with Rio, Koumas and Wirtz scoring. It finished 6-3, and Koumas was the one who delivered.
A great performance from the lads going into a league match away at Brentford, where three crucial points are at stake.