Liverpool bottle leads twice to lose 3-2 at Fenerbahce
Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul on Wednesday, ending the English side’s perfect Champions League record.
Liverpool went ahead twice through Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak, but Fenerbahce hit back each time, and Vedat Muriqi’s 79th-minute header settled a breathless night.
Fenerbahce were struggling, with two points from three games and ten league phase matches without a win. Ismail Kartal resigned on October 28, Dirk Kuyt took over, and the night before kick-off the club named Emre Belozoglu as his successor.
Andoni Iraola made five changes, with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak among those dropping to the bench and Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas coming in. Kuyt wanted energy from his team, saying they had to play physical, and a minute’s silence honoured Jesus de Miguel.
Liverpool dominated the opening, keeping the ball to whistles from the home crowd. Victor Munoz forced a save from Ederson after a mishit by Barcola, and Jacquet missed a six-yard header, with Liverpool having every shot and corner by the 20th minute.
Iraola’s side had made their dominance count when Trey Nyoni gave Liverpool the lead in the 25th minute. A defensive header dropped to the edge of the area and he kept his volley low, deflecting off Kojo Oppong to wrong-foot Ederson.
The lead lasted four minutes. Fenerbahce had hit the bar moments earlier, Kuyt was booked for protesting, and in the 29th minute Mason Greenwood’s free-kick was going wide until it hit Jacquet and flew past Alisson to level the scores.
Fenerbahce finished the half the stronger side. Greenwood shot just wide, Romelu Lukaku set up N’Golo Kante for a chance, and Alisson then saved from Greenwood, leaving the sides level at 1-1. Neither team made a change at the break.
Liverpool pushed again after the break. Barcola’s shot was turned around the post, Virgil van Dijk headed the corner straight into Ederson’s gloves, and Archie Brown had a shot saved by Alisson after a clearance rebounded off his chest.
Iraola changed things in the 66th minute, bringing on Wirtz, Isak and Gakpo for Gomez, Munoz and Ngumoha and shifting Barcola right. Within minutes Gakpo’s left-wing cross found Isak, and although Ederson got two hands to his header from three yards, it went in.
Archie Brown levelled in the 73rd minute. Greenwood played a clever short corner, Kante chipped in a cross from outside the area, and Gakpo got his head to it, flicking it past Alisson, who had come for it, leaving Brown a tap-in.
Vedat Muriqi, on for Lukaku in the 63rd minute, won it in the 79th. Brown’s looping cross from the right dropped on to the substitute’s head from eight yards, and he planted it into the corner beyond Alisson’s reach, completing a turnaround.
Liverpool found no response. Kerkez replaced Tsimikas, Koumas joined a front four and Mac Allister was booked, but Fenerbahce held firm through stoppage time, even with Alisson up for a corner, and Van Dijk’s left-footed effort never threatened.
Fenerbahce claimed their first win of this Champions League campaign and their first in the competition since 2008, ending Liverpool’s perfect record. Emre Belozoglu is expected to take over after the match, with Kuyt either returning to his assistant role or leaving.