Bradley Barcola joins the European hat trick club while Liverpool in general show off how dangerous even a thin squad’s attack can be. There was a lot of football to feast on at LASK, with some really superb goals on show for the Reds, who took 26 total shots in Austria. Though hamstrung by injuries, Andoni Iraola was able to do some rotation in defense, and the starting defenders will be pleased with their clean sheet — and Virgil Van Dijk will perhaps be pleased with the rest.
Talking Tactics
Liverpool were inhabiting
attacking zones really effectively in Austria, with Florian Wirtz taking possession higher up the pitch and thus being better able to get involved with direct threats rather than simply contributing to the early build-up. His ridiculously precise assist to Bradley Barcola for Liverpool’s third illustrates the pay off of this approach.
Liverpool were also incredibly effecting running at the end line and looking to cut back for a sight of goal from there, with three of these efforts resulting in goals. Though Liverpool’s second goal was actually from Koumas keeping the ball alive in the box, the initial threat came from Rio Ngumoha running in from the end line and earning a penalty shout that quickly became a moot point. On the other side, Kostas Tsimikas’s cross from the endline to Jeremie Frimpong earned Liverpool’s fourth goal, and the fifth was a clever team move between Ngumoha and Frimpong utilizing that space on the right. This particular use of attacking space gave LASK no end of problems, and the Reds were effective in punishing them.
The rotated fullbacks can be very pleased with their attacking contributions: Kostas Tsimikas finished the match with two assists, and Jeremie Frimpong bettered him with two assists and a goal. Not bad work, with Tsimikas’s second assist for Frimpong’s goal being something of a throwback to the times when Liverpool fullbacks assisting each other was not an unusual sight.
Liverpool were dominant in possession, of course, but used the ball effectively. Trey Nyoni’s influence on the match has gone somewhat under the radar given the scoreline, but the young midfielder was in charge of proceedings throughout. Just before Liverpool’s opening goal, Nyoni had completed 27 total passes, four more than LASK’s entire team had. His distribution was sensible and his performance is an argument for more playing time in the future.
How Andoni Iraola Reacted
The Liverpool boss was all smiles following Liverpool’s dominant victory in Austria, and Andoni Iraola was full of compliments for his starting XI, which he insisted was less rotated than reports suggest:
“I said before that Trey [Nyoni], [Lewis] Koumas, Rio [Ngumoha] has already played more… they are first team players! We trust them and think they can give us the level. I’m really happy with Trey’s performances from pre-season.”
He is correct on that score, though injuries to Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are perhaps the reason for their uptick in gametime.
Iraola was also pleased with the performances from Florian Wirtz and hat-trick hero Bradley Barcola:
“I’m really happy for Bradley. You were asking me yesterday, him not making the numbers, also Florian. Both of them played really really well. They made the difference. Bradley, apart from the hat-trick, I think he was always a threat, 1v1, threatening in behind. I’m happy for both of them.”
What Happens Next
This type of win was absolutely necessary following the shambles of the weekend. Though a rotated Liverpool squad put in a solid performance against Manchester City prior to the red card, shipping three when down to 10 men illustrated how thin the squad is with the present injuries.
Here we saw the players available put in a show, and had this been a rotated side by choice rather than by necessity, a few players would be asking for more game time on the back of this performance.
The attack was fluid and dangerous, and for the full 90 minutes you could see where a Liverpool goal could come from. That kind of threat has been sometimes lacking this season, with the Reds feeling quite sterile in possession on occasion. The spaces taken up in attack are something Liverpool can build on — and seek to replicate — at the weekend. Indeed, Liverpool took 19 shots in just the first half against LASK, which Opta notes as a record for an away team in the Champions League. More of that, the Reds.
