Rio Ngumoha proved a constant menace for LASK, who resorted to simply kicking the former Chelsea academy starlet as Liverpool ran out 6-3 winners in the Champions League at the Raiffeisen Arena. The 18-year-old winger's display has given head coach Andoni Iraola food for thought ahead of Saturday's trip to Brentford.
Ngumoha impresses on the right flank
Ngumoha, who has played the majority of his career as a left winger, was deployed on the right side under Iraola and didn't let the unfamiliar territory slow him down. He was involved in Bradley Barcola's first goal with an insistent charge at the LASK backline and was a menace all game.
The fearless wideman is seeking more game time under Iraola, and this was a sizable stride forward. With competition from a £123m France international who scores hat-tricks, there can be few complaints about being deployed outside his natural habitat, but Ngumoha certainly put down a marker for more Premier League minutes.
Frimpong's mixed night in Linz
Jeremie Frimpong scored a towering header, a sight that accentuated the strange nature of the evening in Linz. The diminutive Dutchman is not known for aerial prowess, yet he rose high to steer home a Kostas Tsimikas corner.
At times, Frimpong looked a real force down the right side, teaming up with Ngumoha to bamboozle a shell-shocked LASK defence. His cross for Barcola's third goal was on a plate, and he also provided Lewis Koumas with a ball that allowed the Wirral forward to score his first Champions League goal.
Defensively, however, Frimpong left much to be desired in the second half as LASK rattled in three goals in 14 minutes, all originating down that right side. Iraola, not known as the most naturally cautious of coaches, might seek to reinstall centre-half Ronald Araujo at right-back when Brentford host the Reds this weekend.
Champions League strategy takes shape
Successive victories over Atletico Madrid and now LASK should give Iraola some leeway in his first season coaching in the European Cup. Aside from the financial benefits of winning games, there is no obvious sporting need to try and finish top of the 36-team competition.
The general strategy will be to get points in the bag early before resting and rotating when fixtures pile up across November and December. Maximum points from the two games so far and a winnable home fixture against Villarreal could set Liverpool up with valuable breathing room domestically across the winter.
A top-eight finish is all that is really required, and 16 points has been enough for that in the two terms of the new-look Swiss system. A win at Anfield next week would put Liverpool past the half-way mark of that tally.
