Liverpool cleansed themselves from the stains of defeat by Manchester City at the earliest opportunity. A rampant performance in Austria, where Bradley Barcola opened his account for Andoni Iraola’s side with a hat-trick, maintained Liverpool’s 100% start to the Champions League and shattered Lask’s big night on the elite European stage.

Iraola defended the majority of Liverpool’s display against City, the club’s £123m signing from Paris Saint-Germain and the effectiveness of Florian Wirtz before the return to European action. His faith and confidence were rewarded as his team routed limited opponents who may have surprised themselves to score three in consolation. Barcola hit his stride in a Liverpool shirt with Ronald Araújo also scoring his first goal for the club on a restorative evening in Linz.

The home end was full and in strong voice over an hour before kick-off as Lask supporters came to savour their club’s first home game in the Champions League proper. The Lask team proved to be much less impressive though, in fairness to the Austrian crowd, their support rarely wavered even as a rout unfolded. Liverpool revelled in their superiority and the invitation to recover from Sunday’s first defeat of the season.

Iraola rested Virgil van Dijk, delaying the defender’s 200th game as Liverpool captain, and Alexis Mac Allister as he managed workloads ahead of Saturday’s visit to Brentford. A new-look central defence of Araújo and Jérémy Jacquet were given a physical test by the Lask strikers Samuel Adeniran and Krystof Danek but handled the hosts’ rudimental approach comfortably. Araújo also showcased his attacking talents. It was the on-loan defender’s ball that Wirtz took in his stride before gliding between two Lask players and testing the goalkeeper, Lukas Jungwirth, with a low shot. Araújo then headed wide from a Kostas Tsimikas corner. He would find his range from the stand-in captain’s next set piece.

Liverpool were utterly dominant against an opponent that struggled to retain possession in all areas of the pitch. The breakthrough was inevitable but also a result of uncertainty in the Lask defence. Alemão had to concede the first of two successive corners after his keeper failed to come off his line to collect a routine through ball. From the second corner, conceded by Alemão’s headed clearance, Araújo towered above his marker to head home Tsimikas’s delivery.

Merely 96 seconds later it was 2-0 as Barcola also opened his account for Liverpool. The summer recruit found himself under scrutiny ahead of the game, along with Wirtz, having gone six appearances for his new club without a goal or an assist. That issue was put to bed when Rio Ngumoha weaved in from the right and, after the teenager had stumbled, Lewis Koumas laid the ball back to the lurking winger. Barcola swept a first-time shot inside Jungwirth’s far post. Liverpool were enjoying themselves.

Wirtz soon found himself with a much-needed assist for Barcola’s second goal of the evening. The Germany international has looked more at home for Liverpool in the Champions League than Premier League and this was no exception. Wirtz picked out his fellow big-money signing’s run into the Lask area and Barcola rolled a cool finish beyond the exposed keeper.

Lask could have been seriously embarrassed before half-time. Koumas had a fine finish disallowed for offside and, following another neat exchange between Wirtz and Barcola, Ryan Gravenberch saw his shot kiss the inside of the far post and rebound clear. Liverpool’s 19 attempts on goal were the most by an away side in the first half of a Champions League game since records began in 2003-04.

There would be no letup from Iraola’s team after the interval. Jeremie Frimpong morphed into an old-fashioned centre-forward to rise above Yvan Dibango and bury a textbook header into the bottom corner when Tsimikas floated a delightful cross over from the left byline.

Koumas had a second goal disallowed for offside before Alisson’s clean sheet was ruined by the Lask substitute Robert Ljubicic sweeping home inside his near post. The Brazil keeper’s disgust washed over his teammates. Barcola was presented with his hat-trick when Ngumoha released Frimpong down the right and the full-back flashed a low cross through the Lask six-yard box. The unmarked Barcola applied a simple finish at the back post.

Frimpong also supplied the assist for Koumas’s deserved goal, converted from close range after the home side were caught playing out from the back. The Lask substitute Florian Flecker brought a touch of respectability to the scoreline with two goals in four minutes, both from Dibango deliveries from the left, but there was no disguising the emphatic manner of Liverpool’s victory nor the surge of confidence it should give to Barcola.