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LIVERPOOL continue to spread the goals like autumn leaves as efforts from Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah carried Jurgen Klopp’s team through to the knock-out stages of the Europa League as group winners.

Salah, who scored his 13th of the season from the spot in the second half, remains the primary option, of course, but, for the first time since 1992, Klopp is now in charge of a Liverpool team that has five different players on five or more goals before the start of December.

The visitors had started well enough but there was still an air of inevitability about Liverpool’s opener from Diaz on 12 minutes and the feeling that, with it, the tie was over.

When Gakpo doubled the lead three minutes later, that notion was as good as confirmed and all Liverpool eyes turned to Toulouse, where Scouse hopes were for a draw or win from visiting Belgians Union Sait-Gilloise to clinch top spot for the Premier League side.

It was an impressive opening from Klopp’s men and one which surely added to his sense of frustration that a sub-par showing in the last outing, defeat in Toulouse, had left his side with work to do.

That message clearly got through, based on their start to the game and Gakpo missing the best early chance, from Harvey Elliott’s neat through ball.

LASK were living dangerously, committing men on the counter, and their audacity was punished for the opener, as Wataru Endo sprayed the ball wide to Joe Gomez and the defender’s well-aimed cross was converted into a gaping space in the visitors’ goal by Diaz.

Three minutes later, Diaz and Gakpo seemed to have got in each other’s way as they hovered just inside the area but the former reduced the situation, regaining the ball and playing it wide to Salah.

The striker’s run and cross were predictably perfect and Gakpo needed no second invitation to double the Reds’ lead.

Salah might have added to it moments later, his promising shot well blocked by Andres Andrade although, in between the two goals, the Austrians had reminded everyone of their threat as Sascha Horvath sprinted down the right on the break but failed to deliver a good enough cross to the unmarked Moses Usor.

It was a night on which Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, standing in for the injured Alisson for as many as the next five games, had to keep his wits about him, even if the visitors were struggling to create chances to truly test him.

If Kelleher was settling in for a largely pedestrian night, the same could not be said at the opposite end where Tobias Lawal was beaten for a third time after 32 minutes, by a Kostas Tsimikas strike, only to be rescued by the bar, with the ball deflecting off it to safety.

The state of affairs did not dampen the enthusiasm of a large contingent of travelling Austrian fans who bounced around enthusiastically although, as half-time approached and the thermometer plummeted, even they seemed frozen into submission.

Defender Gomez tried to get in on the act, advancing from deep within his own half before unleashing a shot from outside the area that bounced just wide.

And Salah’s cross came within inches of being turned into an open goal by Gakpo as he sprinted into the six-yard area. The chances were relentless, with Elliott yet again finding Salah in space only for the Egyptian to side foot an effort straight at Lawal.

Salah was clearly itching to add his name to a scoresheet that was, surely, destined to grow in the second half and, sure enough, it only took him until the 49th minute to claim the 199th goal of his Liverpool career.

Gakpo poked the ball through, showed an explosive turn of pace and was duly tripped by Lawal as he attempted to round him. Salah made no mistake in converting his 13th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

There would be no goal number 200 on the night, however, as Klopp began to ring the changes and rotate his forwards ahead of the busy December - not that such a move dulled Liverpool’s appetite.

Gakpo would wrap it all up on the stroke of 90 minutes when Trent Alexander-Arnold surged forward and found the striker in space top complete a routine finish for his second of the night, but there could have been many more.

Elliott’s stinging shot drew an acrobatic stop from the outstretched leg of Lawal before substitute Darwin Nunez attempted to get in on the act.

First, the Uruguayan saw a shot blocked from a promising position before he missed an even better chance, drawing a solid block from Lawal, quickly making up for his penalty blunder.

There would finally be the chance for Kelleher to show his worth, on 65 minutes, as the Irish youngster made a good save at the feet of Ibrahim Mustapha after Rene Renner had raced clear and found huge gaps in the home defence.

And the keeper displayed even better technique when he judged his angles perfectly to parry a shot from impressive LASK striker Usor.

Klopp was able to further use his bench and the Liverpool manager had the added bonus of increased late target practice for his stand-in keeper, who made another fine save to keep out an audacious flick from LASK captain Robert Zulj.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Kelleher 6; Gomez 7, Konate 6 (Alexander-Arnold 56, 6), Quansah 7, Tsimikas 6 (Chambers 82); Gravenberch 7 (Bradley 82), Endo 7, Elliott 7; Salah 8 (Jones 56, 6), Gakpo 9, Diaz 7 (Nunez 56, 6). Substitutes (not used) Pitaluga, van Dijk, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Matip, Gordon, Doak.

LASK (3-4-1-2): Lawal 7; Ziereis 5, Andrade 6, Talovierov 5 (Havel 60, 5); Stojkovic 6 (Flecker 61, 5), Horvath 6, Ljubic 5, Bello 5 (Renner 61, 6); Zulj 6; Usor 8, Ljubicic 6 (Mustapha 61; (Kone 74, 5)). Substitutes (not used) Siebenhandl, Balic, Jovicic, Ba, Goiginger, Luckeneder, Darboe.

Referee: U Schnyder (Switzerland) 7