Andoni Iraola arrived in Istanbul hoping to plug Liverpool’s flaws in attack only for holes to appear at the opposite end of the pitch. Fenerbahce capitalised on a late defensive collapse to launch Dirk Kuyt’s interim spell with a tumultuous victory and end Liverpool’s 100% run in the Champions League. Liverpool’s second successive defeat will infuriate Iraola as much as the manner of Sunday’s loss to Arsenal.
It was careless and easily avoidable. The visitors led twice, through Trey Nyoni’s first senior goal and a header from substitute Alexander Isak, only for Fenerbahce to level swiftly on both occasions and snatch a late winner when Vedat Muriqi punished weak defending from several in red. Bradley Barcola’s anonymous display up front was an added headache for the Liverpool head coach.
Iraola’s team started strongly against an ageing home side and created two good openings in the first five minutes. Victor Muñoz and Barcola both fluffed shots from an inviting Kostas Tsimikas cross, while Jérémy Jacquet headed wide from the left back’s corner. Tsimikas’s deliveries were his strong suit.
Defensively, he produced another uncertain display. There was a Premier League feel to the contest given the number of recognisable faces in the Fenerbahce ranks. Kuyt’s starting XI boasted almost as much Premier League experience as Liverpool’s with Romelu Lukaku, Ederson, N’Golo Kanté, Nélson Semedo, Matteo Guendouzi and Mason Greenwood amassing 1086 appearances between them.
The total of the visitors’s starting lineup came to 1241. As expected, the Fenerbahce fans tested the ear-drums with their incessant whistling whenever Liverpool took possession. They were a test for structural engineers too with their constant bouncing in the upper tier of the home end.
Liverpool sought to dilute the atmosphere by controlling possession in the early stages. Rio Ngumoha was prominent and Kanté should have been booked for halting one promising run by leaping on the teenager’s back. The referee, Clément Turpin, was in a lenient mood with both sides.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
