Lewis Koumas saw the funny side eventually but there was a serious undertone when he started talking about his weekend insomnia and the insight it provided.

Liverpool’s young striker was grinning as he left the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz on Wednesday night and who could blame him? These are heady, unexpected times for the academy graduate, who has stepped up in the wake of injuries to lead the line for Andoni Iraola and is thriving with responsibility.

Quite whether the conversation would have gone in the same direction had the 21-year-old boarded Liverpool’s flight home with two disallowed goals is open to debate, as a night of frustration in Austria would have sent his mind into overdrive after being held at arm’s length against Manchester City.

“I couldn’t have hit it any better,” said Koumas, replaying his chance that Gianluigi Donnarumma saved to change the course of the contest. He had been played in by Bradley Barcola and instinctively thrashed a shot, in front of the Kop, that required the Italian to take desperate action.

“I couldn’t really sleep that night, to be honest with you. I just kept thinking about the chance. The keeper is huge and he was just in the right place. I think in normal circumstances it goes in. I [think about the chances I miss more than the ones I score] because I just want to keep on improving.

“You never know when your last game is going to be here. I know that sounds like a cliché but it is true. Alex [Isak] will be back soon, Cody [Gakpo] will be fit soon. I have just got to keep pushing for every chance I get. So, yeah, I was thinking about the chance all night.

“Nerves don’t come into it. This is my job and what I am meant to do. I am meant to be trusted to go in so, when I get the chance, I have got to do my best.”

Koumas is nothing if not persistent. He has aimed to be a scampering nuisance for Iraola, his energy and desire providing one of the early individual standout performances for the new head coach when he was man of the match against Tottenham last month in the Carabao Cup.

That refusal to give up endeared him immediately to Liverpool’s supporters and it also reflected the journey he has been on through a career that has already yielded 16 caps for Wales, as he has continually defied expectations and risen to challenges.

The biggest (and most significant) came in August 2022, when he was still 16. It would be harsh to call it a turning point but Koumas – whose father, Jason, played for Tranmere, Wigan and Wales after leaving Liverpool’s academy – was the beneficiary of a significant positional change.

He had been playing out wide and, occasionally, as a central midfielder for the youth teams and it had never been considered that he would become a forward. It was assumed at the time that if there was a striker emerging, it was going to be Oakley Cannonier, whose name was on many lips.

Cannonier was the ball boy whose fast reactions, in May 2019, enabled Trent Alexander-Arnold to take his never-to-be-forgotten corner that caught Barcelona’s defence cold in the Champions League semi-final comeback and it felt preordained that he would reach the top.

Things change quickly in age-group football. Cannonier is now playing in Singapore, having been released by Liverpool in May, while Koumas has stepped into the void left by injuries to Isak and Gakpo.

This all traces back to academy director Alex Inglethorpe and the then under-18 head coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson hatching a plan to play Koumas as a No 9. The result? Four goals in his first go in the role in a 6-2 thrashing of Middlesbrough then an assist in his third appearance in a 4-2 beating of Manchester United.

It was a pleasant surprise to those at Kirkby and, from that point, Koumas never looked back. He has had loan spells at Stoke, Birmingham and Hull in recent years and was the subject of loan inquiries during the last window, but Iraola would not allow it.

The Basque had followed his progress from afar at Bournemouth and when he arrived at Liverpool in June, made it clear he would not countenance Koumas leaving. The new head coach was adamant his versatility and ability to press would enable him to make big contributions when required.

His progress, then, has not come as a surprise to Iraola, who was one of the first to congratulate Koumas following a 6-3 win in Linz after he had emulated Steven Gerrard in becoming the only other 21-year-old to score and assist for Liverpool in a Champions League fixture.

“It’s not a bad stat, is it?” Koumas said, having asked for clarification of whether it was true. “It’s not a bad name to be alongside. Wow! What a legend. I just want more of this. Yes [I am loving how things are going] but this is also my job. I need to get goals and assists, I hadn’t had any before Linz.

“So it was really important to get them. Oh my God, I would have been gutted if the game had ended [with him having two goals ruled out for offside]. I just kept going because I knew the more the game was going on, it was opening up and I was just focused on getting the right connection.

“Going over to the fans at the end meant absolutely everything. They are the reason we do this and that we want this sort of job. They mean everything to us. I wish I could have got in there with them but there was a big metal cage in my way.”

You suspect, though, that if it had been required, Koumas would have found a way of clearing the obstacle in front of him. He has been doing it consistently through his career and he will be ready to do it again, smashing through ceilings as he chases his dream.