Liverpool's unbeaten start to the Champions League league phase is over after a 3-2 defeat at Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday, Sky Sports reports. Andoni Iraola's side took the lead twice through Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak but surrendered both advantages within four minutes, and Vedat Muriqi headed the winner for the hosts. The result leaves Liverpool with their first loss of the European campaign at the halfway point of their eight league-phase fixtures, while former Liverpool player Dirk Kuyt, now in charge of Fenerbahce, secured his team's first win of the competition.
Why it matters
The defeat is Liverpool's second in a row, following their loss to Arsenal three days earlier, and it is the first time Iraola has lost consecutive matches since taking over at Anfield, according to Sky Sports. It also exposes a defence that Iraola had largely kept intact while rotating his attack: Sky Sports notes that the average age of Liverpool's starting front three was under 22, while the back line averaged just under 30. The experienced players were expected to carry the night in a hostile away stadium, but the opposite happened.
A teenage opener, then a quick reply
Iraola made five changes from the Arsenal defeat, resting several senior players including Isak and Florian Wirtz. Nyoni, 19, kept his place and opened the scoring with a deflected volley that left goalkeeper Ederson wrong-footed, giving the midfielder his first professional goal, per Sky Sports. The lead lasted only four minutes: Mason Greenwood's free-kick struck Jeremy Jacquet and diverted past Alisson.
Iraola turned to his bench after the break, sending on Isak, Wirtz and Cody Gakpo. The move paid off almost at once when Gakpo crossed for Isak to head in from close range with his first touch of the game. Again the advantage vanished quickly. Sky Sports reports that confusion between Gakpo and Alisson at the back let Archie Brown, a former Birmingham academy player, tap in an equaliser. Fenerbahce then went ahead for good when Muriqi climbed to head home a high cross.
Iraola points to set-piece failures
Speaking after the match, Iraola described the goals conceded as "cheap" and "messy," according to Sky Sports. He said his side had been the better team for much of the game and had believed they could win it, but that the goals came from a free-kick, a corner and a long throw — situations he felt his players should have handled better. He added that the wall was not set properly for the first goal and that Muriqi outjumped three defenders for the third. Iraola also said the noise in the stadium made communication almost impossible, which he felt contributed to the mix-up between Gakpo and Alisson.
Sky Sports' analysis was blunt about the defending. The wall for Greenwood's free-kick was poorly organised, the marking and communication on the second goal were described as shocking, and Muriqi was allowed to drift away from Virgil van Dijk and beat three stationary players in the air for the winner.
For Nyoni, the night offered a personal milestone even in defeat: Sky Sports reports he became Liverpool's second-youngest Champions League scorer. Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz also caused problems for the Fenerbahce defence, while the older defenders behind them struggled.
Liverpool next return to domestic action before resuming their European schedule, with Iraola under pressure to fix the set-piece and communication problems that cost them in Istanbul.
