Bradley Barcola stole the show as Liverpool beat Austrian outfit LASK 6-3 on Wednesday night to make it back-to-back Champions League wins.

Liverpool would have been expected to go to Austria and get the three points, but there will always be concerns about what could happen after they suffered their first defeat of the season against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, losing 3-0.

Fans needn't have worried though, as the Reds came out on top in a nine-goal thriller, racing into a 3-0 lead within the opening 37 minutes following Ronald Araujo's first goal for the club, as well as a brace from Barcola.

GMS only highlighted on Wednesday that the France international had failed to score or assist in 10 appearances in all competitions this season for club and country, but he finally announced himself in a red shirt on Wednesday night with a stellar display.

With Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo absent through injury for the second consecutive match, Andoni Iraola was once again looking to the likes of Barcola and Victor Munoz to step up to the plate, with youngsters Rio Ngumoha and Lewis Koumas joining them in attack.

Koumas joined Barcola on the score-sheet in the second half and 18-year-old Ngumoha was outstanding on the night as the Merseyside outfit ultimately cruised to victory, but they had some disappointing moments later in the match after some substitutions had been made.

Liverpool were leading 5-0 and 6-1 at one stage, but the game ended 6-3 and that would have been the biggest disappointment on an impressive night for Iraola from an attacking point of view.

It was captain Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez who came on in the 61st minute when the score was 4-0, but 16 minutes later Liverpool had conceded three times.

Van Dijk was visibly annoyed and must take some of the blame, but it was another poor cameo from Gomez, whose time at Anfield is surely nearly up.

Gomez Needs to Leave Liverpool in 2027

Gomez must have been gutted not to get the start against LASK, and even more so when he saw Araujo find the net for the first time a couple of months into his Liverpool career.

The Englishman is approaching his 300th appearance for the Reds and he is still yet to score, and he will be desperate to try and do it this season.

Indeed, Gomez's contract at Anfield expires at the end of the campaign and given there have been no reports of contract talks and the fact that other long-serving players like Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah left this summer, it would be no surprise to see him go.

The 29-year-old moved to the Merseyside outfit in 2015, but he has often been plagued by injury issues during his time with the club, including at the beginning of this campaign.

Gomez would have been hoping for a start in Austria after returning to full fitness, but Iraola opted for Araujo and Jeremy Jacquet instead, before giving the Englishman and Van Dijk the final 30 minutes.

The former Charlton Athletic man ultimately failed to take his opportunity to impress as Liverpool conceded three times in 15 minutes after his introduction, picking up a 5/10 rating from the BBC as a result.

New sporting director Julian Ward faces some big decisions in 2027, but one that seems quite straightforward is that Gomez either needs to be sold in January, or leave for free when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Liverpool need quality players who can help them on a consistent basis and Gomez just hasn't been able to do that enough. It will be said to see him go after such a long spell at Anfield, but it is the right move for all parties.