Sports

Barcola bags hat-trick as Liverpool thrash LASK 6-3

Liverpool's French midfielder #29 Bradley Barcola celebrates scoring his hattrick
 
Liverpool's French midfielder #29 Bradley Barcola celebrates scoring his hattrick

 
 Liverpool's Bradley ⁠Barcola scored his first goals for the ​club with ​a hat-trick as they swept aside Champions League newcomers LASK 6-3 on Wednesday, spoiling the Austrian side's first home game in Europe's elite club competition.
Ronald ⁠Araujo also opened his Liverpool account, while ⁠Jeremie Frimpong headed home and Lewis Koumas scored after twice being denied by the offside ‌flag as Andoni Iraola's side ​responded emphatically ⁠to Sunday's 3-0 Premier League ​defeat by Manchester City.
That ‌match was City's first since being found guilty of ​114 breaches of financial rules and they host two-time defending champions Paris St Germain later on Wednesday.
Barcola's hat-trick offered some welcome relief after ‌a slow start to his Liverpool ​career, with the French forward facing growing scrutiny ​following ‌his ⁠big-money move.
Iraola will be less satisfied with Liverpool's defensive display after Florian Flecker ​struck twice in three second-half ⁠minutes and ​Robert Ljubicic also scored for LASK.
Liverpool began their campaign with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid, while LASK suffered a ​narrow 1-0 defeat by AEK Athens ​in their opener in September.
 — Reuters