Lewis Koumas Equals Steven Gerrard’s Record at Liverpool Aged 21

• Lewis Koumas, 21, equalled the youngest-ever mark for a Liverpool player to score and assist in a Champions League game, a feat Steven Gerrard first achieved in 2001.
• The Wales international made his first Premier League start only three days earlier, with Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike all injured.
• Koumas joined Liverpool aged 11 and spent loan spells at Stoke, Birmingham and Hull before Andoni Iraola placed him in his first-team plans.

He Could Not Sleep After Missing Against City, Then Made History

Lewis Koumas wanted to know if it was true. Someone had just told him he had equalled the youngest mark for a Liverpool player to score and assist in a Champions League game, a feat Steven Gerrard set in 2001. “Is that official?” he asked.

It was. Koumas, 21, reached it in Linz, where Liverpool beat LASK 6-3. Bradley Barcola left the stadium with the match ball after a hat-trick, but Koumas had his own night to remember. His first two strikes were ruled out for offside before the third one stood.

“It’s not a bad stat, is it?” Koumas said. “And it’s not a bad name to be alongside. Wow. What a legend. I just want more of this.” He kept his feet on the ground, though. “This is my job,” he said. “I need to get goals and assists. I hadn’t had any before Linz so it was really important to get them.”

From Academy Boy to Iraola’s Plans

Koumas joined Liverpool aged 11 and scored on his first-team debut as an 18-year-old under Jurgen Klopp. Loan spells followed at Stoke, Birmingham and Hull, where he helped the Tigers win promotion last season. This time last year he was playing for Birmingham in the Championship, while Barcola was at Paris St-Germain.

Iraola decided in the first week of pre-season that Koumas belonged in his Liverpool squad. Koumas made his Premier League debut at Newcastle and came on against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. His first start of the season, against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, brought a man of the match award and a verdict from Iraola that his playing style was “contagious”.

Koumas is the son of former Wales midfielder Jason Koumas. After the Tottenham game he went straight on a video call with his family, and he did the same in Austria after his goal.

“It was probably the best feeling in my career, 100%. I’m just really grateful to have the opportunity again,” he said. The celebration with the travelling supporters meant just as much. “Going over to the fans at the end meant absolutely everything. They are the reason we do this and that we want this job. I wish I could have got in there with them, but there was a big metal cage in the way!”

The Miss Against Manchester City That Kept Him Awake

The Champions League goal came just three days after Koumas made his first Premier League start, against Manchester City, with Isak, Gakpo and Ekitike all injured. At 0-0 Barcola played him through and Koumas connected sweetly, but Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the effort out in front of the Kop.

Koumas said he was “absolutely gutted” that the ball did not reach the net, and the miss stayed with him. “I couldn’t really sleep [on Sunday]. I just kept thinking about the chance all night. I feel like I couldn’t have hit it any better. The keeper is huge and he was just in the right place and I think in normal circumstances it goes in.”

He knows the situation can change quickly. Isak and Gakpo will return to contention, and Iraola said on Thursday it was “too early” to say whether either would be available for the next league game. “You never know when your last game is going to be,” Koumas said. “I know that sounds like a cliche, but it is true. I have got to keep pushing, every chance I get.”

A Pathway Opening for Others Too

Koumas is not the only academy product catching attention. Liverpool’s under-19s beat LASK’s youngsters 4-2 in their Youth League game on Wednesday, with 18-year-old Will Wright scoring a hat-trick. Academy boss Rob Page spoke about the pathway the first team now offers.

“You see Koumas with the first team and the energy he brings to the front line, that’s from being in the academy, and Will has a similar identity,” Page said. “We have a manager who has come in and has an identity about how he wants to play which suits a lot of the players. And they’ve seen a pathway there now: Rio [Ngumoha], Trey [Nyoni] and now Koumas.”

Page said his message to the young players was “where is the next one coming from? So go and show the manager what you are capable of doing”. Koumas has taken that on board. “Trey and Rio are unbelievable and, if you’re good enough it doesn’t matter how old you are,” he said.

He would like this spell to be the start of something lasting. “Hopefully that is the case and that’s how I would love it to go,” Koumas said, “but you just have to keep working hard, keep my head down and doing what the gaffer asks of me and make it last as long as we can.”