Bradley Barcola emphatically ended his wait for a first Liverpool goal on Wednesday by scoring three of his team’s six against LASK as they maintained their 100% record in the Champions League.
Ronald Araujo, Jeremie Frimpong and Lewis Koumas also netted for the Reds against their Austrian opponents, who scored three of their own on a night when both teams’ defending left plenty to be desired.
The French winger will rightly grab the headlines on account of his hat-trick in Linz, but one of his teammates turned in a quietly effective performance which didn’t go entirely unnoticed.
Nyoni was ‘bossing it’ for Liverpool in Linz
Opta Analyst writer Sam McGuire took to X to highlight the contribution of Trey Nyoni, whose use of the ball kept play ticking over for Liverpool as Barcola and others got their names up in lights.
The writer posted at half-time: ‘Trey Nyoni bossing it at the base of the midfield. Joint most passes (46) and a pass success rate of 93%.’
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Nyoni turned in a quietly brilliant display for Liverpool
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Liverpool’s number 48 is still only 19 years of age, considering just how comfortable he’s looked at the highest level so far in his fledgling career.
Liverpool Echo writer Ian Doyle didn’t get his wish of seeing Nyoni make a first Premier League start last weekend (the teenager came on as a substitute against Manchester City), but he was in from the first whistle in Austria for a full Champions League debut.
McGuire highlighted the tidy passing statistics from the young midfielder in Linz, and other figures from Sofascore highlight his quietly excellent contribution to the Reds’ 6-3 win.
| Touches | 105 |
| Passes completed | 83/90 (92% success) |
| Accurate long balls | 6/7 |
| Duels won | 3/5 |
| Clearances | 3 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
With Ryan Gravenberch suspended for the top-flight fixture away to Brentford on Saturday, there’s every chance that Nyoni will keep his place in the starting XI at the Gtech Community Stadium, especially after his fine performance this evening.
Andoni Iraola will want to keep the 19-year-old grounded and focused, but privately the head coach must be delighted with what our number 48 is producing on the pitch.