Bradley Barcola unlocks special Liverpool achievement previously held by Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah

When the full-time whistle blew at the Raiffeisen Arena on Wednesday evening, Bradley Barcola clutched the match ball tightly to his chest, a beaming smile breaking across his face as he walked toward the vocal travelling Kopites high in the Linz away stand.

Just three days earlier, following a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield, Jamie Carragher took a swipe and declared that Florian Wirtz "wasn't working" in a Liverpool shirt.

Meanwhile, Barcola a £123 million summer acquisition from Paris Saint-Germain had gone six full matches without registering a single goal involvement, looking visibly weighed down by the burden of his price tag.

An Austrian waltz on a chilly October night doesn’t necessarily mean Liverpool are ready to dance toward silverware. The true test of Andoni Iraola’s credentials lies at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Yet, as Liverpool coasted to an chaotic 6-3 victory over LASK to make it six points from six in the Champions League, there was a palpable sense that something finally shifted for the Reds' high-priced forward line.

The £239m duo finally smile in historic European rout

Prior to arriving in Austria, Barcola and Wirtz who could ultimately cost the club a mind-boggling total of £239 million had managed precisely one assist between them since arriving at Anfield.

Against LASK, however, both looked transformed. Wirtz actually looked like he was enjoying himself, pulling the strings in the half-spaces and delivering a piercing through-ball to set up Barcola’s second of the evening.

For Barcola, it was a night of personal redemption as he became the first Liverpool player to score a Champions League hat-trick since Luis Díaz netted three against at the time Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen during the 2024/25 campaign.

Furthermore, he becomes the first Liverpool player to score a Champions League hat-trick on foreign soil since Mohamed Salah tore through Rangers at Ibrox back in October 2022.

On that unforgettable night in Glasgow, Salah famously came off the bench to score the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history in just six minutes and twelve seconds, capping off a resounding 7-1 victory for the Reds.

For Barcola to join such exclusive company away from Anfield and to do it while netting his first three senior goals for the club in a single, breath-taking European away night is the clearest signal yet that the Frenchman is ready to make his own mark on Liverpool's rich European history.

Ngumoha and Koumas shine

With Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo ruled out through injury, Iraola fielded Liverpool's third-youngest starting XI in Champions League history (average age: 24 years, 186 days), handing captaincy honours to Kostas Tsimikas and rotation spots to academy prospects.

While Barcola grabbed the headlines with his treble, 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha was arguably the standout performer on the pitch. The teenager tormented LASK's right-back all evening with his direct dribbling, weaving into the box to spark Barcola’s opening goal.

Youngster Lewis Koumas, starting in place of Isak, saw two goals ruled out for offside before finally opening his Champions League account with a well-taken finish from Jeremie Frimpong’s delivery. Ronald Araújo also chipped in, powering home a Tsimikas corner for his maiden Liverpool goal.

From a supporter's perspective, we aren't going to get carried away beating an Austrian side that was frankly there for the taking. The defensive sloppiness late in the game conceding three goals for the second successive match following the City defeat will be slightly a concern.

When Luis Díaz scored his famous hat-trick against Leverkusen back in 2024, it came during a dominant domestic and European run where everything Arne Slot touched turned to gold.

For Barcola, this hat-trick arrives under entirely different circumstances: amidst intense scrutiny, managerial transition, and heavy squad rotation.

Yet, goals breed confidence. For a young winger who arrived from Paris carrying the weight of a £123m fee, taking home the match ball in Europe isn't just a nice stat it's the exact blueprint for what he can become in a Liverpool shirt.

If this night in Linz is the spark that finally unlocks Barcola and Wirtz, then the £239m investment might just begin to look like money well spent.

And with a grueling Premier League trip to Brentford coming up fast on Saturday where Iraola's side will be desperate to put the Manchester City setback behind them and get their domestic campaign firmly back on track Barcola couldn't have picked a more crucial moment to hit top gear.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow