Liverpool’s perfect Champions League record is gone. The Reds twice led in Istanbul and twice threw it away as Fenerbahce produced a stunning second-half comeback to win 3-2 at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Wednesday night, with Mason Greenwood leading the charge for the Turkish side in a famous Champions League result.
Goals from teenager Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak had put Andoni Iraola’s visitors ahead on two separate occasions, but each lead survived just four minutes. Greenwood levelled from a free-kick before the break, Archie Brown struck from close range, and Vedat Muriqi’s 79th-minute header completed the turnaround to hand Fenerbahce their first win of this season’s competition.
The defeat ended Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to their European campaign and extended their miserable record in Turkey — where they have now won just once in nine visits.
Nyoni’s dream start undone by Greenwood’s deflected free-kick
Liverpool began like a team determined to settle the contest early, registering four shots in the opening five minutes — something they had not managed in a Champions League match since March 2009 against Real Madrid.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute and it was a moment to savour for 19-year-old Trey Nyoni. A poor clearance dropped to the edge of the Fenerbahce box and the young midfielder volleyed it in via a deflection to score his first goal for the club, becoming one of Liverpool’s youngest-ever scorers in the competition.
But the lead lasted barely four minutes. Moments after Irfan Can Kahveci had smashed against the crossbar from five yards out, Greenwood stepped up to a free-kick around 20 yards from goal. His effort took a huge deflection off Jeremy Jacquet, wrong-footing Alisson completely, and the former Manchester United forward celebrated wildly in front of the home supporters.
Greenwood nearly had a second before half-time, but Alisson kept out his effort as a frantic, end-to-end first half came to a close with the scores level at 1-1.
Isak strikes with first touch — then Brown and Muriqi turn it around
Liverpool made a triple change in the 66th minute, introducing Isak, Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz — and the move paid off within three minutes. Gakpo broke down the left and floated in a cross that Isak met with a towering header inside the six-yard box, scoring with his very first touch to restore the lead in the 69th minute.
Again, though, Fenerbahce refused to fold. Just four minutes later, a well-worked corner caused chaos in the Liverpool box. Alisson was caught in no-man’s land, Gakpo could only flick the ball on, and Brown — capitalising on some sloppy defending — fired home at the back post to make it 2-2 in the 73rd minute.
The comeback was complete six minutes later. A deep ball into the area from a short throw-in was met by substitute Muriqi, who rose highest to send a brilliant header into the bottom corner, outmuscling three Liverpool defenders. It was the Kosovo striker’s first Champions League goal, and it sent the home crowd into raptures.
Kuyt gets one over on his former club
The result was a personal triumph for Dirk Kuyt, Fenerbahce’s interim coach and a former Liverpool player, who masterminded a famous night against the club where he spent six seasons. His side had gone into the match without a win in this season’s competition, yet they twice fought back and finished the stronger team.
There was an unusual footnote to the evening: with Greenwood and Brown both on the scoresheet, it was only the third time in major European competition that two English players scored in the same game against an English club — following Nottingham Forest’s Garry Birtles and Colin Barrett against Liverpool in 1978 and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Wayne Bridge against Arsenal in 2004.
For Liverpool, the statistics made grim reading beyond the scoreline. It was the first time they had conceded three goals in three successive European games, and they are still yet to keep a clean sheet on Turkish soil.
What the Fenerbahce vs Liverpool result means for the Champions League
Iraola was in no mood to make excuses after the match, describing the goals his side conceded as “cheap” and “messy” as he bemoaned his team’s defending of set-pieces.
The defeat does not derail Liverpool’s European campaign, but it ends their flawless start and hands the advantage in the battle for top spot to their rivals. Fenerbahce, meanwhile, have breathed new life into their campaign with a victory that will live long in the memory of everyone at the Sukru Saracoglu.
The two sides now turn their attention to their domestic fixtures, but for one night in Istanbul, it was the Turkish underdogs — and Mason Greenwood — who stole the Champions League show.
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