Barcola hat-trick fires Liverpool to 6-3 win at LASK

Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick as Liverpool beat LASK 6-3 away in the Champions League on Wednesday, claiming a maximum six points from their opening two league-phase fixtures.

Ronald Araujo opened the scoring with his first goal for the club before Barcola netted twice to put Liverpool 3-0 up at half-time at the Raiffeisen Arena. It was the Frenchman's first two goals in a Liverpool shirt.

Jeremie Frimpong headed in a fourth early in the second half, and though Robert Ljubicic pulled one back for LASK, Barcola completed his treble almost immediately. Lewis Koumas added a sixth before Florian Flecker scored twice in the closing stages to round off a nine-goal contest.

Manager Andoni Iraola made four changes to his starting line-up, with Kostas Tsimikas captaining a side that had an average age of 24 years and 186 days — the third-youngest Liverpool XI ever fielded in a Champions League game.

Liverpool next host Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday in their third Champions League league-phase fixture.