Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool 3–2 in Istanbul on 4 November, UEFA's dated Champions League round-up confirms. Vedat Muriqi headed the winner after the visitors had twice taken the lead.
Fenerbahçe answer both Liverpool goals
Trey Nyoni put Liverpool ahead in the first half after a loose ball fell to him in the area. Liverpool's match report calls it his first senior professional goal. The visitors did not keep that advantage for long: Mason Greenwood's deflected free-kick wrong-footed Alisson Becker and brought Fenerbahçe level. Irfan Can Kahveci had already struck the crossbar during the home side's response.
Liverpool pushed forward again after the interval. The club's account records saves from Ederson against Alexis Mac Allister, Bradley Barcola and Virgil van Dijk, as well as a Victor Munoz effort cleared from near the goal line. Muriqi came on and tested Alisson, but the next goal belonged to substitute Alexander Isak. Cody Gakpo crossed from the left and Isak headed in with his first touch, restoring Liverpool's lead.
Archie Brown then arrived unmarked at the back post to finish N'Golo Kante's delivery following a short corner, according to Liverpool's report. A later throw-in led to a deep ball into the area, where Muriqi won the header that put Fenerbahçe in front. Liverpool had half-chances for Gakpo and Isak but could not find another equaliser. UEFA named İsmail Yüksek as Player of the Match.
Liverpool's set-piece problem in Istanbul
SportsRivo compared Liverpool's play-by-play with head coach Andoni Iraola's post-match explanation. The report traces Fenerbahçe's goals to a free-kick, a short-corner phase and a throw-in; Iraola identified the same restart pattern. Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola said, “The main reason I can find to lose the game is we conceded [from] three set-pieces.” The comparison connects his assessment to the reported origins of each goal without treating open-play chances as the decisive scores.
Liverpool entered the match with a perfect record in this Champions League league phase, UEFA's result list shows. SportsRivo's earlier Liverpool report also records the club's league defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. The European loss followed that domestic setback, although the competitions and opponents were different.
What the result changes
- UEFA says Fenerbahçe recorded their first win in the Champions League proper since 2008. The home side turned a match Liverpool had twice led into a victory.
- Liverpool's perfect start to the European league phase ended with this defeat, despite goals from Nyoni and Isak.
- Iraola's team conceded the winner from a throw-in phase after Brown had already levelled from a corner sequence, as Liverpool's account describes.
The next European fixtures
UEFA's fixture list schedules Fenerbahçe away to Shakhtar Donetsk on 25 November, with Liverpool at Club Brugge on the same matchday. Those games offer the next scheduled Champions League tests for both clubs after the Istanbul result.