Manager Andoni Iraola was pleased with the attacking contributions of Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz after Liverpool secured a commanding 6-3 Champions League victory over LASK on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, although the manager expressed frustration with his team’s defensive display in the closing stages.
Barcola enjoyed a memorable start to his Liverpool career, finding the net for the first time since completing his £123 million transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The forward marked the occasion with a hat-trick, underlining his attacking quality and giving Iraola plenty of reasons to be encouraged.
However, the manager insisted that Barcola’s influence extended beyond his goals, pointing to his movement and ability to trouble the opposition defence.
“I think he played so well today, and not just the goals,” said Iraola of Barcola. “He had more chances to score; he was always a threat, attacking the spaces in behind.
“In training sometimes you feel when a player is in the zone, and fortunately tonight for us he has shown the level that he has.”
Iraola on Wirtz
Wirtz also caught the manager’s attention with an impressive display, responding positively to criticism surrounding his recent performances. The midfielder played an important role in Liverpool’s attacking combinations, creating opportunities and helping the team dictate proceedings.
Iraola was particularly satisfied with the German’s contribution on the ball, highlighting his passing, creativity and understanding of the game.
“I think he was amazing in possession,” he said. “I think he had lively passes, good assists.
“He helped us to control the game, especially in the first half where he was roaming around and finding good spots. It was a good game from Florian.”
Despite the emphatic scoreline, Liverpool’s defensive performance left Iraola dissatisfied, especially after the team surrendered three goals following changes to the central defensive partnership.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez came on for Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, but Liverpool struggled to maintain their defensive organisation as LASK found opportunities to get back into the contest.
Iraola acknowledged that replacing both centre-backs could have contributed to the problems but explained that the decision was influenced by the need to manage player workload with another fixture approaching.
He said, “Probably the reason why the manager shouldn’t change both centre-backs, but we were already winning 4-0, and you have to think about the next game and saving the legs of the players.
“We didn’t defend properly at the end of the game,” he added.
While the six-goal haul provided plenty of attacking encouragement, conceding three times highlighted an area Liverpool must address. Iraola will hope his side can maintain their attacking sharpness while improving their defensive discipline in the matches ahead.
