Liverpool’s six goals against LASK offered a welcome change of mood after their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. Bradley Barcola scored his first hat-trick for the club, Florian Wirtz helped unlock a compact defence and the younger members of Andoni Iraola’s squad contributed to an emphatic Champions League victory.

But the result did not answer every question about Liverpool’s attack.

Their next opponents, Brentford, are likely to pose a different problem. Keith Andrews’ side have made an unbeaten start to the season and have demonstrated an ability to restrict opponents to shots from less threatening positions. Liverpool may have rediscovered their finishing touch in Austria, but Saturday’s trip to the Gtech Community Stadium will test whether they can consistently create high-quality opportunities against a more disciplined defensive structure.

It is an important distinction. Scoring six goals is evidence of attacking potential; finding ways to create chances when an opponent denies space is a more reliable measure of a team’s development.

Liverpool have been capable of generating shooting opportunities in the Premier League this season. Their volume, however, has not translated into the same level of clear-cut chances.

Before this weekend’s fixtures, Liverpool ranked among the league’s leading sides for shots and shots on target, but had created only nine big chances — fewer than any other team. The gap between those numbers suggests that getting into shooting positions has not always meant finding the right opportunities.

That is where Brentford become an interesting opponent.

The Bees have encouraged teams to shoot from distance, limiting the average expected-goals value of the attempts they concede. Their defensive approach is not simply about preventing shots altogether; it is about controlling where those shots come from and making opponents work for openings inside the penalty area.

Liverpool could therefore have plenty of possession without necessarily finding it easy to threaten Caoimhín Kelleher’s goal.

The challenge for Iraola is to ensure his team do more than move the ball from side to side before attempting a speculative finish. They need to manipulate Brentford’s defensive shape, create space between the lines and move the ball quickly enough to exploit any gaps before they close.

That requires coordinated movement rather than individual inspiration alone.

The performance against LASK offered encouragement because Liverpool’s attacking threat came from several sources. Wirtz found Barcola with a precise pass for the forward’s second goal, while Rio Ngumoha’s direct running helped create the first and contributed to the build-up for the hat-trick goal.

Those combinations could prove particularly important against Brentford.

Wirtz’s ability to receive between midfield and defence gives Liverpool a route through a compact block, provided the players around him move intelligently. If he receives the ball with his back to goal and has no forward options, Brentford can compress the space and force Liverpool to recycle possession.

Barcola offers a different threat. His pace and willingness to attack defenders can force a defensive line to retreat, creating space for midfield runners and players arriving from the opposite flank. His hat-trick should give him confidence, but the real test is whether Liverpool can find him in situations where he can attack the defence rather than receive the ball with several opponents already around him.

The relationship between the two players is therefore worth watching. Liverpool need Wirtz to connect midfield with attack and Barcola to stretch the opposition, with the supporting players providing enough movement to prevent Brentford from focusing exclusively on those two threats.

One successful European performance does not mean the partnership is fully established. Saturday offers a more revealing test of whether the patterns can be repeated against a different defensive challenge.

Brentford’s threat is not limited to their defensive organisation. They have also shown that they can score through a variety of players, and their attacking options make them dangerous when matches become stretched.

Liverpool’s late concession of three goals against LASK was a reminder that attacking momentum can quickly become a liability if the team loses its structure. Iraola acknowledged that changing both centre-backs had been the wrong decision in the circumstances, despite the need to manage workloads during a demanding run of fixtures.

The lesson ahead of Brentford is broader than personnel. Liverpool must ensure that their attacking positioning leaves enough protection behind the ball, particularly when full-backs advance and midfielders move forward to support the attack.

If Liverpool commit too many players beyond the ball, Brentford may be able to exploit the spaces left behind. If they become too cautious, however, they risk allowing the hosts to settle into their defensive shape and reproduce the problem of creating chances against a compact block.

Finding the balance will be crucial. Liverpool need to attack with the speed and intent Iraola wants without turning every lost possession into an opportunity for the opposition.

The fixture also arrives during a demanding schedule. Liverpool travelled to Austria in midweek and must now return to Premier League action before hosting Villarreal in Europe next week. Iraola has to manage the physical demands on his squad while maintaining enough continuity for his side to develop a recognisable style.

The latest injury updates offer some longer-term encouragement, with Conor Bradley nearing a return to partial group training and Hugo Ekitike progressing through his rehabilitation. Giovanni Leoni, however, is taking longer than initially hoped to return to team training. Those updates do not immediately solve Liverpool’s selection problems for Saturday, but they underline the importance of having more players available as the schedule intensifies.

For now, the most pressing issue is performance. Liverpool need to show that the attacking combinations seen against LASK can translate into a more difficult Premier League setting, while avoiding the defensive lapses that made the final stages of Wednesday’s victory unnecessarily uncomfortable.

Brentford will not necessarily dominate possession to test Liverpool. Their challenge may instead be to remain compact, restrict clear chances and punish the visitors when they overcommit.

Liverpool’s response to that challenge will tell us more than the six goals in Austria. The victory restored confidence and provided evidence of the attacking quality in Iraola’s squad. Saturday will show whether that quality can be converted into consistent chance creation against an opponent determined to make every opening difficult to find.