Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul on Wednesday, ending Liverpool's 100 per cent record in this season's Champions League.
Vedat Muriqi scored the winning goal for Fenerbahce in the 79th minute, though one source puts it in the 89th. The exact minute is disputed.
Trey Nyoni scored his first goal for Liverpool to put them 1-0 up in the 25th minute. Mason Greenwood equalised for Fenerbahce in the 29th minute with a deflected free-kick.
Substitute Alexander Isak headed in Cody Gakpo’s cross in the 69th minute to restore Liverpool’s lead. Archie Brown equalised for Fenerbahce in the 73rd minute after Gakpo’s touch sent the ball past goalkeeper Alisson, leaving Brown with a tap-in.
Liverpool have now lost back-to-back games in all competitions, after a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. The defeat also ended their 100 per cent record in this season's Champions League.
Iraola: 'Cheap goals. Messy goals.'
Liverpool's head coach, Andoni Iraola, said his side gave away cheap, messy goals. Greenwood's free-kick came from quite far out but went through the wall, while Muriqi won the ball against three defenders from a long throw for the final goal.
Cody Gakpo's touch just in front of goalkeeper Alisson led to the second goal, Iraola said. Communication in the stadium was almost impossible, so it was difficult to give instructions.
Cheap goals. Messy goals.
The free-kick is quite far out, through the wall. The last goal was a long throw, the second one Cody (Gakpo) touched the ball just in front of Ali (goalkeeper Alisson). In the stadium it was almost impossible to communicate, it was difficult for me to give instructions and the communication was difficult between Cody and Ali.
Iraola made five changes to the Liverpool starting XI for the game. He didn't believe the team selection caused the defeat.
We have done this not just today, we have done it all season. All the games midweek we have been changing four or five as it’s impossible to retain the starting XI,
I trust the squad to sustain the level and I don’t think it is the main reason why we lost.
Iraola said Liverpool must look at how they conceded the goals as the reason they did not win.
We have to look more at how we conceded the goals as the reason we didn’t win.
We conceded from a free-kick, a corner, a long throw and that has hurt us,
Isak: 'It's a bit sloppy'
Liverpool should have taken more from the match, Alexander Isak said. He called it sloppy to lead twice and still lose.
It's never easy here but today I think we could and should get more out of the game.
It's a bit sloppy that we had the lead twice and for us to then lose the game is not good enough.
Mason Greenwood praised the team's performance, saying they kept fighting through to the end. He congratulated the coaching staff, the players and especially the fans.
It was a great performance from the team, we dug in until the end and always thought we'd have a chance to win the game, even though we went 1-0 down.
I want to congratulate all the coaching staff, the players and especially the fans for getting behind us. We're very happy to get this win tonight.
Kuyt: 'We made a miracle tonight'
Dirk Kuyt, a former Liverpool midfielder, was Fenerbahce’s interim manager. He called the win a miracle.
A very special night for everyone who loves Fenerbahce,
We told each other to stick together and be united. That’s something I learned from Liverpool.
We made a miracle tonight, not many expected us to win.
Kuyt stepped in as interim boss after Ismail Kartal left last week, and this match marked his second and last game in charge.
Vedat Muriqi said Fenerbahce stuck together and took their chances.
Just that we were all going to suffer together because we know Liverpool are one of the best teams in Europe. They've got great players at the top of the pitch.
We knew if we stuck together in the difficult moments, in the low block, we'd be able to create chances, catch them on the break like we did in the first half.
Then we knew we'd be very good in the air, would be able to create some chances, we managed to take them and get the win.
Defensive frailties
Liverpool have now conceded three goals in three successive European games for the first time. In Turkey, their record stands at seven defeats, one draw and one win, and they've never kept a clean sheet. They've conceded 10 goals in four Champions League games this season.
Fenerbahce had collected just two points from their first three Champions League games before this match. Victory lifts them to 19th in the 36-team Champions League table. Liverpool's defeat kept them from matching Paris Saint-Germain's points total at the top of the Champions League standings.
Pundits criticise defending
Karen Carney said Liverpool were very flat-footed and questioned if they had ever played together before.
Some of it was like, ‘Have they ever played together before?’
They were very flat-footed. I don’t know if the Arsenal performance, it was too much, the fatigue. I don’t think Fenerbahce were all that.
Steve McManaman said the goals Liverpool conceded were awful and poor for a Champions League performance.
The goals they conceded were awful,
That’s poor for a Champions League performance.
Rupak Pramanik wrote that Liverpool may increasingly rue their failure to strengthen the defence.
As this season goes on, Liverpool will regret more and more not investing in their defence,
Alisson and Van Dijk are in the twilight of their careers, and there isn’t enough to help them out. Putting Szoboszlai in at right-back really exposes their defensive frailty.
What next for Liverpool
This weekend, Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in the Premier League. After the international break, they'll play Manchester United at Anfield. In the Champions League, Liverpool will face Club Brugge at the end of November, then Porto, Inter Milan and Lens.
- 25th minuteNyoni scores Trey Nyoni puts Liverpool 1-0 up.
- 29th minuteGreenwood equalises Mason Greenwood scores with a deflected free-kick.
- 69th minuteIsak scores Alexander Isak puts Liverpool 2-1 ahead.
- 73rd minuteBrown equalises Archie Brown scores after a mistake by Cody Gakpo.
- 79th minuteMuriqi scores Vedat Muriqi scores the winner. One source says the 89th minute.
Liverpool vs Fenerbahce
Liverpool
Away
- Led twice
- Conceded three goals
- 100% record ended
Fenerbahce
Home
- Came from behind twice
- Won 3-2
- Moved up to 19th
What we know
- Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul on 4 November 2026.
- The defeat ended Liverpool's 100 per cent record in this season's Champions League.
- Liverpool have now lost back-to-back games in all competitions.
Still unclear
- The exact minute of Vedat Muriqi's winning goal is disputed: one source says the 79th minute, another says the 89th minute.
