RAISING THE BAR! Liverpool star Barcola announces Reds arrival as Iraola's side hit LASK for SIX - but alarm bells ring at the back

Liverpool saw off Champions League minnows LASK in a nine-goal thriller as Bradley Barcola fired home a hat-trick on a night where Florian Wirtz produced a timely response to his critics.

The Frenchman ensured his wait for a goal didn't extend following his mega money move from PSG as he excelled alongside his German team-mate. Wirtz, off the back of an underwhelming debut season, has endured a slow start to the campaign but controlled proceedings in Austria to ensure Andoni Iraola's men made it two wins from two to begin their European campaign.

Wirtz dovetailed impressive with this summer's marquee arrival Barcola, who was on hand to score twice in the first-half. Ronald Araujo found Liverpool's opener and, within minutes of the second-half, Jeremie Frimpong had headed home Liverpool's fourth.

On a night where Iraola may have questions over his defence, his attack clicked and Lewis Koumas, who was lively at the weekend, scored Liverpool's six.

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LASK scored three times inside 15 minutes to frustrate Alisson and keep their dedicated crowd in good voice, but the English side were always able to keep them at arms length.

Two goals inside 100 seconds of the first-half effectively took the game away from the Austrians. Araujo's opener came from a corner as the on loan defender headed home with relative ease.

Liverpool quickly pressed home their advantage and, after a stunning solo run from Rio Ngumoha down the right, the ball eventually found its way to Barcola, who finished first time into the far corner. The Frenchman will have wanted to make more of his earlier opportunities, but his strike will finally quieten the noise around his start to life in red.

Lewis Koumas thought he'd made it three on the half hour mark, but after he finished the offside flag was raised. Barcola did come up with Liverpool's third shortly after, finishing across the goalkeeper after Wirtz had found him with a smart ball. Frimpong further put the game out of reach on 51 minutes with Liverpool in cruise control.

The ever enthusiastic LASK supporters were given plenty to cheer during a purple patch that saw Robert Ljubicic, who came off the bench, pull one back with Florian Flecker notching a brace.

Sandwiched in between those three strikes was Barcola's hat-trick strike and one for Koumas, who was again tasked with leading the line.

Forget any caveats about the level of opposition, this is the type of game that a £100million player should thrive in and that is exactly what Wirtz did. The game just looked to stand still for a second every time the German got the ball and its that type of quality Liverpool thought they'd landed last summer.

Such performances have been few and far between, but with an inexperienced striker ahead of him, and a young midfielder behind him, Wirtz needed to take charge - and take charge he did.

He constantly found pockets of space, his neat touches earned him time and he was constantly putting teammates in good positions, pulling the strings like he did at Bayer Leverkusen.

The pleasing thing for Iraola will be just how effective Barcola looked down the left, and that in part owed itself to the work done by Wirtz. The two worked impressively in tandem, and that's a connection those in Liverpool will hope continues to develop.

The German finding his new colleague impressively so that the ex-PSG man could convert in the first-half, effectively wrapping up the victory before the half-time whistle even sounded.

Look through any team and you'll see how the striker or the wide forwards prosper as a result of their playmaker purring. Kevin De Bruyne and Martin Odegaard proved that for years in the Premier League, and Barcola certainly benefited from Wirtz having one of his best Liverpool outings.

Off the back of his £123m move as Liverpool's marquee man this summer, Barcola has looked full of running but with a lack of end product. He missed some golden chances in his side's last European outing when they saw off Atletico Madrid.

This time out he was on the money and he was on hand to finish Wirtz's good work following some neat runs and accomplished finishing. There's no doubt everyone involved with the Reds will breath a sigh of relief to see two of their three most expensive signings ever perform as they did.

Barcola's hat-trick was exactly the headline he'll have wanted given how his price tag could've hung over him for the campaign and he looks a confidence player - so watch this space.

After shipping three against City at the weekend the last thing Iraola will have wanted was another questionable display at the back, but that's what he's been left to digest.

Worryingly, this wasn't against players of the calibre of Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku, this was a LASK side who are far from regulars in the Champions League. Their goals were celebrated like wins - and they got three of them.

Alisson's frustration summed up how those goals may be analysed when in comes to Liverpool. Yes the LASK strikes always came with the Reds far enough ahead, but clean sheets have not been regular this season. This is a backline that doesn't look secure and better opposition will see plenty they can exploit.