Three weeks after being thrashed 6-0 by Aston Villa, Fenerbahce fought back from 2-1 down midway through the second half to stun Liverpool and win 3-2 in Wednesday’s Champions League match in Istanbul.
Trey Nyoni scored his first goal for Liverpool from the edge of the box in the 25th minute before Mason Greenwood’s free kick clipped off Jeremy Jacquet and wrong-footed goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool retook the lead when substitute Alexander Isak tapped home with 21 minutes of the 90 left to play, his first Champions League goal for the club, but Fenerbahce responded superbly.
First Archie Brown, a former England Under-20 international, steered the ball in at the back post and then second-half substitute Vedat Muriqi scored their third with a header.
Fenerbahce saw out the game from there and their interim manager Dirk Kuyt, a former Liverpool player, secured a famous victory against his old side.
Andy Jones, Conor O’Neill and James Pearce analyse the key talking points from Turkey…
What were Liverpool doing for the three Fenerbahce goals?
Liverpool’s problems in this game were largely self-inflicted. Both equalisers were conceded within four minutes of them taking the lead, with a litany of individual mistakes to blame.
Jeremy Jacquet was culpable for Fenerbahce’s first. As Mason Greenwood stood over a free kick some 33 yards out, it was assumed that something spectacular would be required to beat Alisson from there. Instead, the relatively tame effort looked comfortably saveable until a deflection off Jacquet in the wall wrong-footed his ’keeper, diverting the ball into the middle of the goal.
The 21-year-old will be disappointed with what was an uncharacteristic lack of bravery, turning side-on to the approaching shot and allowing it to strike his midriff, much to Alisson’s fury. Normally, he is more than willing to put his body on the line, having blocked 11 shots in the Premier League already this season, more than any other Liverpool player.
While Alisson’s anger at that moment was justified, the Brazilian was partly responsible for Fenerbahce’s other two goals.
The second was down to multiple defensive lapses; Cody Gakpo headed N’Golo Kante’s cross backwards into the path of Archie Brown, who Dominik Szoboszlai had failed to track. Brown was left with a rudimentary tap-in after Alisson made a half-hearted attempt to come off his line and claim the ball.
Perhaps unnerved by that experience, the latter was then far too timid for Muriqi’s winner, having ample time to claim another floated cross but instead opting to stay rooted to his line. That allowed the Kosovan plenty of time to get above three defenders and measure his header, directing it into the bottom corner.
Andoni Iraola’s side had multiple chances to seize control of this game and quiet a raucous crowd. Instead, they crumbled meekly, despite their overall dominance.
Conor O’Neill
Did the Barcola experiment work?
In search of solutions to avoid overplaying Alexander Isak and while the wait for Hugo Ekitike to return from April’s Achilles injury continues, Andoni Iraola turned to Bradley Barcola to lead the line tonight.
The Liverpool head coach will not have liked the answer he got as the Frenchman cut an isolated figure for the majority of the minutes he played in that position.
So far this season, Iraola has predominantly used Lewis Koumas as a No 9 when Isak has been absent, and in the Carabao Cup, Cody Gakpo filled in at that position. Gakpo, like Isak, began on the bench in Istanbul.
(Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Barcola, predominantly a winger, was limited to just 10 touches in the first half and struggled to provide a focal point to Liverpool’s attack. August’s £120million signing from Paris Saint-Germain was not helped by what was happening further down the pitch as, despite dominating possession, there was little supply for him to feed on.
The 23-year-old France international did have one chance late in the first half when he latched onto a Victor Munoz cross, but he could only guide his glanced header wide of the far post.
There is the possibility that the selection may have been workload-related too, as the wide positions require a lot of running in and out of possession, which Barcola is happy to do, compared to the less demanding No 9 role as the opposition repeatedly go long.
It was somewhat telling that his most dangerous moment came in the second half when he received the ball on the left, drove inside and forced a save from Ederson at his near post.
Iraola eventually turned to his bench and moved Barcola out to the right wing as Isak came on to play as the No 9… and scored a couple of minutes later.
Isak celebrates his goal minutes after coming on (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Andy Jones
Just how loud was it in Istanbul?
The locals were whipped into a frenzy before kick-off by the enthusiastic PA announcer inside 50,000-capacity Chobani Stadium.
There was a rapturous ovation for Fenerbahce’s new permanent head coach Emre Belozoglu, who was unveiled following his appointment earlier in the day. The former Newcastle United midfielder then took his seat in the stands, with interim boss Dirk Kuyt remaining in charge for Liverpool’s visit.
After the show of adoration for the club legend now tasked with transforming Fenerbahce’s fortunes, there was a sustained outpouring of hostility for Andoni Iraola’s side.
The home fans’ devotion to whistling and jeering every time Liverpool were in possession was unwavering. It was a collective attack on the eardrums. French referee Clement Turpin also felt the wrath of the crowd whenever he had the temerity to give a decision against the hosts.
With Fenerbahce in crisis, sitting sixth in the Turkish top flight after 10 games, nine points behind leaders Galatasaray, there should have been a gulf in class this evening, but the atmosphere undoubtedly helped to span that divide.
The home team were evidently inspired by the soundtrack while the minds of too many in the Liverpool ranks seemed scrambled, with both decision-making and execution poor as promising openings repeatedly came to nothing.
When Trey Nyoni fired home the first senior goal of his career midway through the first half, it was akin to someone hitting the mute button as the crowd fell silent. But Liverpool’s inability to build on that lead meant the fans weren’t quiet for long and when Mason Greenwood’s free-kick equaliser deflected past Alisson, they erupted.
From then until the break it was mayhem, with Liverpool fortunate not to fall behind as the decibel levels were cranked up further.
Despite going back in front through substitute Alexander Isak midway through the second half, Liverpool self-destructed once again, wilting in this Istanbul cauldron.
They still haven’t won away to Turkish opposition since 2010, and this defeat should smart. The after-effects will be ringing in their ears for a while yet.
James Pearce
What did Liverpool say afterwards?
Defender Kostas Tsimikas, speaking to UEFA’s in-house media, said: “Congratulations to Fenerbahce, they deserve it. We didn’t play how we had to play. We didn’t defend after the goal we conceded; after three or four minutes, automatically, we conceded another goal. I think we have to mark better if we want to win games. We didn’t play very good, and that’s why we lost.”
Andoni Iraola said in his post-match press conference: “We conceded from a free-kick, a corner and a long throw – that has hurt us. We have gone in front twice, we conceded in situations we should have definitely done better with.
“It is frustrating because it is a difficult place to play and for the most part of the game we were thinking we could win this one.
“For the first one we didn’t set the wall properly, the last one their player jumps and wins the ball against three defenders.
“I think before scoring the goals we had very good moments on the ball, very good offensive situations. The thing is we conceded almost straight away. We have been dealing well with these situations up to today, it was something we were aware of. It has cost us. We have to do better.
“Cheap goals. Messy goals. The free-kick is quite far out, through the wall. The last goal was a long throw, the second one, Cody (Gakpo) touched the ball just in front of Ali. In the stadium it was almost impossible to communicate, it was difficult for me to give instructions and the communication was difficult between Cody and Ali.”
Speaking about making five changes, he said: “We have done this not just today, we have done it all season. All the games midweek we have been changing four or five as it’s impossible to retain the same starting XI.
“I trust the squad to sustain the level and I don’t think it is the main reason why we lost. We have to look more at how we conceded the goals the reason we didn’t win.”
What next for Liverpool?
Sunday, November 8: Crystal Palace (Away), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET
