Bradley Barcola scored his first Champions League hat-trick as Liverpool beat LASK 6-3 in Austria, responding to early scrutiny of his performances since his £123m summer move from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 24-year-old France international, who had played just six matches for the club, scored with either foot in the first half to open his account before adding a far-post tap-in midway through the second half.
Barcola answers critics with first-half double
On-loan Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo made the breakthrough with a towering header midway through the first half, and 95 seconds later Barcola scored his first goal before doubling his tally before the break.
Questions had already been asked about the winger, a reflection of the underwhelming start Andoni Iraola's side have made, despite the summer signing having missed a trio of chances in the win over Atletico Madrid last month.
Frimpong and Koumas add to LASK's misery
The sight of diminutive right-back Jeremie Frimpong scoring with a 12-yard header just after half-time was the most surprising element of the night, while 21-year-old Lewis Koumas had two goals ruled out for offside before finally finding the net with a well-taken first-time shot on his first Champions League start.
There was a significant drop in quality from Sunday's opponents Manchester City to the Austrian League champions, who were the perfect foil for players in need of a confidence boost, with Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai out injured.
One-sided contest in Austria
Iraola made four changes from Sunday with Frimpong and Kostas Tsimikas, who claimed two assists, replacing Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez, with Araujo moving into the centre, Trey Nyoni coming into midfield and Rio Ngumoha on the right wing.
The 19 shots Liverpool had in the first half alone were an indicator of how one-sided the game was, with Ryan Gravenberch hitting the inside of the post before Barcola slotted past the goalkeeper from Florian Wirtz's pass.
Robert Ljubicic pulled one back before Koumas' first Champions League goal made it 6-1, and although Florian Flecker scored two late goals for LASK, nothing could take the spotlight away from Barcola.
