Dirk Kuyt has beaten his old club. Fenerbahçe came from behind twice to beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul on Wednesday night, and substitute Vedat Muriqi headed the winner with 11 minutes left.
It is Liverpool’s first defeat in the Champions League this season. They had won all three of their games before the trip to Turkey.
Five goals, two comebacks
Liverpool went ahead after 25 minutes. Trey Nyoni hit a first-time shot from inside the box, and for a few minutes the visitors were in control.
It did not last. Four minutes later Mason Greenwood scored from a free kick. It was 1-1 at half-time.
Alexander Isak put Liverpool back in front in the 69th minute. Cody Gakpo crossed from the left and Isak headed it in with his first touch. Again the lead was short. Four minutes later Archie Brown scored from close range after a Fenerbahçe corner.
Then came the moment the home fans had waited for. Muriqi, who had come on as a substitute, rose above the Liverpool defenders to meet a cross from the right and headed it into the corner. Liverpool pushed for an equaliser in the last minutes, but Fenerbahçe held on.
A night for Kuyt
Kuyt played for Liverpool from 2006 to 2012, so this game meant a lot to him. He took over at Fenerbahçe as interim coach last week, after İsmail Kartal resigned.
His first game in charge went badly, a 2-1 home defeat to Göztepe in the league. This was a very different night. Fenerbahçe had only two points from their first three Champions League games, with two draws and a defeat. Now they have their first win of the league phase and five points.
A bad week for Liverpool
For Andoni Iraola and his team, this is a second defeat in four days. On Sunday they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League.
Liverpool still have nine points from four games, so their place in the table is not in danger yet. But the way they lost will worry Iraola. They scored twice away from home and still came away with nothing, and set pieces hurt them again and again.
Our take
Fenerbahçe looked beaten twice and kept coming back. That says a lot about the spirit Kuyt has found in a few days. Muriqi is not a new star, but he is exactly the kind of striker who wins a game like this with one header.
For Liverpool, the problem is clear. They can score goals, but right now they cannot protect a lead.
Was this Fenerbahçe’s best European night in years? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Dirk Kuyt by Zafer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Vedat Muriqi by Zafer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Andoni Iraola by Zafer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium by Anl55400 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
