Fenerbahçe Erase 2 Liverpool Leads Within 4 Minutes Each to Win 3-2 in Istanbul

Liverpool led Fenerbahçe twice in Istanbul on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and kept each lead for only four minutes. Vedat Muriqi’s 79th-minute header finished a 3-2 comeback at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, ending Liverpool’s perfect start in the Champions League and handing the Turkish club its first win of the league phase. The Fenerbahce Liverpool result was Liverpool’s second straight loss in all competitions, after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Two Liverpool leads, two quick equalizers

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola made five changes from the team that lost to Arsenal, starting Bradley Barcola at striker and leaving Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo on the bench, according to BBC Sport and the Guardian. The visitors controlled the opening half hour and went ahead in the 25th minute, when 19-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni volleyed in a dropping ball that deflected off defender Kojo Peprah Oppong. It was Nyoni’s first senior goal, Liverpool’s official site said, and ESPN’s match report, which included reporting from PA, said it made him Liverpool’s youngest player to score his first Champions League goal.

The lead was gone by the 29th minute. Former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood curled a free kick through the wall, and it deflected off Liverpool defender Jérémy Jacquet past goalkeeper Alisson Becker. The teams went to halftime level at 1-1.

Iraola sent on Isak, Wirtz and Gakpo together in the 66th minute, and the move paid off three minutes later, when Isak headed in a Gakpo cross from close range. Fenerbahçe answered again in four minutes. After a corner, English defender Archie Brown was left unmarked to finish from inside the six-yard box at the 73rd minute; Sky Sports described the goal as a mix-up between Gakpo and Alisson.

The winner came six minutes later. Brown sent a high cross into the area, and Muriqi, who had replaced Romelu Lukaku in the 63rd minute, rose above the Liverpool defense and headed it into the bottom corner. Iraola called the goals “cheap” and “messy,” according to Sky Sports.

By the numbers: control without the result

ESPN’s match statistics show how one-sided the game looked on paper. Liverpool held 67.6% of the ball, attempted 529 passes to Fenerbahçe’s 260, about twice as many, and won 12 corners to 4. They sent 42 crosses into the box, more than four times Fenerbahçe’s 10, and outshot the hosts 22 to 17.

Shots on target were even at six apiece, and that is where the game turned. By The Boston Report’s calculation from ESPN’s numbers, Fenerbahçe scored on half of their six shots on target, while Liverpool converted two of six, or 33%. Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Ederson made four saves; Alisson made three.

The defending is the bigger trend. Liverpool allowed one goal in their opening league-phase win over Atlético Madrid, then three in each of the next three games: a 6-3 win at LASK Linz, a 4-3 win over Villarreal and Wednesday’s loss. That is 10 goals against in four games, nine of them in the last three, according to ESPN match data. Liverpool have scored 14, so they still have a positive goal difference of four.

A first win for Fenerbahçe and Dirk Kuyt

For Fenerbahçe, the win was a sharp turn from a 6-0 loss at Aston Villa earlier in the league phase. The Turkish side had drawn its other two games, against Roma and Slavia Prague, before Wednesday. It now has five points from four games.

The night belonged to interim coach Dirk Kuyt, who played for both clubs. BBC Sport reported that Emre Belozoglu is set to take over as Fenerbahçe’s permanent head coach on Thursday. Fenerbahçe’s lineup included several former Premier League players, among them Ederson, N’Golo Kanté, Lukaku and Greenwood.

Liverpool’s trouble in Turkey is not new. ESPN noted that the club lost twice to Galatasaray last season, and BBC Sport said Nyoni’s goal was Liverpool’s first against a Turkish side in Turkey since Kuyt scored against Trabzonspor in 2010.

Where it leaves the Champions League table

Liverpool stay on nine points from four games, three behind Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, the only clubs still perfect after four games. PSG reached 12 points with Tuesday’s 6-0 rout of Villarreal, and Real Madrid matched them Wednesday when Federico Valverde scored in stoppage time to beat AEK Athens 3-2 in Greece, ESPN reported. Arsenal and Manchester City were playing later Wednesday.

The top eight clubs in the 36-team table after eight games advance straight to the round of 16. With four league-phase games left, Liverpool are still well placed, but Iraola’s side now has back-to-back losses after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.

Sources

• BBC Sport: Fenerbahce 3-2 Liverpool
• Sky Sports: Fenerbahce 3-2 Liverpool match report
• Liverpool FC: Liverpool beaten by Fenerbahce in Champions League
• The Guardian: Muriqi caps Fenerbahce comeback
• ESPN: Greenwood leads Fenerbahce rally to end Liverpool’s perfect UCL start
• ESPN: Fenerbahce vs. Liverpool match stats
• ESPN: Champions League standings
• ESPN: Late Valverde stunner seals Real Madrid comeback in Athens