Fenerbahce overturn two Liverpool leads to win 3-2 in Istanbul

Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul on November 4, 2026, recovering from two deficits before Vedat Muriqi headed the winning goal. The Champions League result ended Liverpool's unbeaten start in the competition and gave Dirk Kuyt's side their first victory of the campaign.¹³⁴⁵

Two leads surrendered

Trey Nyoni put Liverpool ahead with a volley, registering the first senior goal of his career. Sky Sports reported that the 19-year-old became Liverpool's second-youngest Champions League scorer. RTÉ said he was playing in the competition for the seventh time.¹²³⁴

Mason Greenwood brought Fenerbahce level with a free-kick that struck Jeremy Jacquet before going in. According to the Guardian, the free-kick followed a foul by Dominik Szoboszlai on N'Golo Kanté. It was the first of two occasions on which Liverpool failed to preserve an advantage.²³⁴⁵

Alexander Isak then restored the visitors' lead with a header after coming off the bench. The Guardian reported that he and Cody Gakpo had been on the field for three minutes when they combined for the goal. Liverpool again conceded shortly afterwards, with Archie Brown scoring Fenerbahce's second equaliser.²³⁴⁵

Sky Sports attributed Brown's goal to a breakdown in communication between Gakpo and goalkeeper Alisson; Associated Press described an errant Gakpo header. Brown subsequently supplied the cross that Muriqi headed in for the winner, according to AP. Sky said each Liverpool lead had lasted only four minutes.³⁵

Iraola questions defending

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola focused afterwards on the way his team had conceded. He said Fenerbahce's goals originated from a free-kick, a corner and a long throw, and acknowledged that his players had been aware of the hosts' threat from set pieces.²³

“We need to look at how we conceded the goals,” Iraola said. He also pointed to the difficulty of making himself heard: “In the stadium it was almost impossible to communicate.” His assessment followed a match in which, according to AP, Liverpool had 68% possession and 22 attempts to Fenerbahce's 17.²⁵

RTÉ reported that Iraola made five changes as Liverpool completed a sequence of nine matches in 27 days. The BBC said the defeat was their second in four days, following five consecutive wins. In Europe, Sky placed the setback halfway through Liverpool's eight league-phase fixtures.¹³⁴

A win under Kuyt

For Fenerbahce, the victory came under interim manager Kuyt, who spent six years as a Liverpool first-team player, according to the BBC. The broadcaster reported that he would make way for Emre Belozoglu. AP said the result moved Fenerbahce to 19th place with five points in the competition.¹⁵