Andoni Iraola looked up to the ceiling of Fenerbahce's media auditorium as he tried to find the words to describe the madness he had just witnessed.
"Cheap" was his first conclusion, swiftly followed by "messy"; technically, Liverpool's head coach was right but this was a moment when nobody would have found issue had he gone further. "Absurd" and "preposterous" would have been more accurate portrayals of this calamity.
Liverpool have won two European trophies in Istanbul, but they do not tend to enjoy visits to Turkey. Roy Hodgson, in August 2010, was the last Anfield manager to oversee a win here and there was an irony that the hero of that night in Trabzon – Dirk Kuyt – masterminded this downfall.
Kuyt, interim head coach, got a remarkable response out of a Fenerbahce team who had amassed 1,086 Premier League appearances between them and he was as giddy as the locals after Mason Greenwood, Archie Brown and substitute Vedat Muriqi scored to give the club a famous night.
But even Kuyt would have been the first to recognise the helping hand Fenerbahce were afforded. Liverpool were meek, naïve, and while the Turkish side danced in the rain on the Asian side of the city, Iraola was left to dissect the most chastening 90 minutes of his short Anfield career.
"It's frustration because it's a difficult place to come here and to play," said Iraola. "During most of the game, we were thinking: 'OK we can win this one.' But obviously it hasn't happened. We conceded, I think, messy goals, especially the first and the third one. The second one is a rebound."
Yet it all started so smoothly. For all that Fenerbahce tried to put Liverpool out of their stride with a soundtrack of high-pitched whistling, Iraola's side kept the ball well and they might have been ahead in the fifth minute but Victor Muñoz and Bradley Barcola, playing as a central striker, erred.
Another chance went begging when Joe Gomez fizzed a ball across the six-yard box that was screaming to be converted, but nobody could apply the finishing touch. When Trey Nyoni put Liverpool ahead, it seemed like all those local predictions of a resounding away win would come true.
Nyoni is a terrific player-in-the-making and the joy of seeing him wheel away, having become Liverpool's second youngest Champions League scorer behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, was everything you want to see in football.
So for the landscape to change so dramatically – and so quickly – after Liverpool had taken the lead was staggering, and it all came about after Irfan Can Kahveci slid in and turned a cross from Mattéo Guendouzi on to the bar.
Those who remember Kuyt from his Anfield days 15 years ago will recall a player who never considered any cause to be lost and the Dutchman implored his team to attack the flanks with pace, even earning himself a yellow card at one point. Eventually, the pressure paid off.
Greenwood had felt aggrieved not to have been given a 23rd-minute penalty, after Kostas Tsimikas placed his hands on his back, but he did not have to wait long to make an impact, his opportunity coming after Dominik Szoboszlai conceded a cheap free-kick.
Mason Greenwood's goal deflected off Jeremy Jacquet to beat Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal - Shutterstock
Szoboszlai is rapidly becoming an enigma. How can a player with the gift of being able to score goals from the heavens make the mistakes of a weekend amateur? There was no need for him to foul N'Golo Kanté but the error was compounded, Greenwood's strike deflecting off Jérémy Jacquet.
Since Manchester United felt duty-bound to sell Greenwood in 2024 the former England forward has continued his career away from the Premier League. After leaving Marseille he has found a home in Istanbul where the fans have taken to him and they bellowed his name following the equaliser.
Alisson Becker, wrong-footed by Jacquet's decision to break off from the wall and turn his body, was livid and rightly so. Liverpool had gone from sublime (in patches) to ridiculous and the passage of play up to the interval was hugely uncomfortable.
Would things settle down after the break? Not a bit of it. Liverpool, worryingly for Iraola, could not stamp any authority and though there was a brief respite when Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak combined after being introduced as substitutes, the lead felt as sustainable as a snowball in a sauna.
Fenerbahce's followers had made this a hot house and they levelled as quickly as they had done in the first period when Brown, who started his career at Derby before having spells in Switzerland and Belgium, stole in at the back post to turn in a flicked clearance that Gakpo got wrong.
A draw would have been fine but Liverpool contrived to throw it away completely. Alisson stayed stuck on his line as a high ball came in, Nyoni, Jacquet and Alexis Mac Allister were weak in the challenge and Muriqi nodded in to spark pandemonium.
Having conceded three against LASK Linz and then another two in a dreadful 45 minutes against Villarreal before shipping another three here, Liverpool have shown that, as things stand, they cannot be considered as serious players in this competition. How can they be with defending so bad?
"We put ourselves in a good position," Isak told LFC TV afterwards. "To lose this game is not a chaos situation, we just have to get back to winning games. If we win our next game then we are back to a really good position."
Isak is right but the "if" is suddenly a big one – it will remain that way unless Liverpool learn quickly.
08:03pm
"Congratulations to Fenerbahce, they deserve it. We did not play how we had to play. We did not defend after the goal we conceded, after three or four minutes, automatically, we conceded another goal. I think we have to mark better if we want to win games. We did not play very good and that is why we lost."
07:58pm
07:52pm
07:51pm
November 8: Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (Premier League)
November 22: Liverpool vs Manchester United (Premier League)
November 25: Club Brugge vs Liverpool (Champions League)
November 29: Everton vs Liverpool (Premier League)
December 2: Liverpool vs Sunderland (Premier League)
07:45pm
AEK Athens 2 Real Madrid 3 FT
Fenerbahce 3 Liverpool 2 FT
Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis 8pm
Lens vs Como 8pm
PSV vs Club Brugge 8pm
Porto vs Napoli 8pm
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City 8pm
Slavia Prague vs Arsenal 8pm
Viking vs Sabah 8pm
07:43pm
Possession:Fenerbahce 32%-68% Liverpool
Shots:17-22
Shots on target:6-6
Corners:4-12
Touches in opposition box:17-35
07:39pm
The final whistle is blown in Istanbul and Fenerbahce have come from behind twice to take all three points. Liverpool have thrown it away really, both through their own defending and some poor officiating, in particular for Fenerbahce's first two goals, which really should not have stood because of some very questionable decisions that led to the set-pieces that resulted in those goals.
07:37pm
Isak wins Liverpool a late corner out on the right. Alisson has come up. Liverpool are unable to take advantage of the corner and there are just seconds remaining.
07:37pm
Alisson is nearly caught out a long way from his goal but is fortunate that Guendouzi misses the target from long range.
07:36pm
There will be just three minutes added on.
07:30pm
Mac Allister is into the book for a foul on Akturkoglu not far outside the Liverpool penalty area.
07:24pmKey moments • Goals • Video
The home side have trailed twice but now they lead. Liverpool are throwing this one away. A looping ball is sent in from the right and really Alisson should come out with the ball in the air for a long time. Muriqi gets the better of Jacquet, Nyoni and Mac Allister and manages to generate enough power on the header to beat Alisson. That is Muriqi's first Champions League goal.
07:21pm
Both sides have made changes. The hosts have brought on Muldur and Akturkoglu. Meanwhile Kerkez replaces Tsimikas, who had a poor game tonight.
07:18pmKey moments • Goals • Video
Like in the first half, Liverpool's lead does not last long. Again, Liverpool rather gift a goal and it is poor officiating once more. Fenerbahce win a corner after Semedo was offside in the build-up. From that corner, Fenerbahce take it short and Kante clips it in. Alisson comes to try and catch it but the ball comes off the head of Gakpo. The ball comes to Brown, who has an easy tap-in at the back post. Liverpool will be angry with themselves and the officials tonight.
07:14pmKey moments • Goals • Video
Two of the substitutes combine to put Liverpool back in front. Gakpo and Tsimikas exchange a one-two down Liverpool's left before the former stands up a cross to the back post. Isak meets it and, despite Ederson's best efforts, the Fenerbahce keeper is unable to prevent the header from going into the net.
Alexander Isak will get the praise for the goal but there is further proof that Cody Gakpo has been Liverpool's standout attacker this season. He was intelligent, his run down the inside channel to swap passes with Kostas Tsimikas was inspired and his cross was precise. It leaves us to ask the question again: why on earth were Liverpool ready to sell him to Manchester City?
07:11pm
Andoni Iraola is turning to his bench for the first time tonight and what a trio of substitutes he is bringing on. Isak, Gakpo and Wirtz all come on, with Gomez, Munoz and Ngumoha heading off. Gomez's withdrawal sees Szoboszlai move to right-back.
07:08pm
Fenerbahce are making a change up top as Muriqi replaces Lukaku.
07:07pm
Munoz comes close to putting Liverpool back in front. The Spaniard receives it on the right side of the box and fakes the shot, instead cutting inside. He then curls one with his left foot towards the far corner but his effort is blocked well by Skriniar.
07:05pm
Munoz should make an easy clearance tracking back on the edge of his own penalty area but hits it straight at Brown, who then fires towards goal but it is saved by Alisson.
07:02pm
On the left side of the Fenerbahce penalty area, Barcola cuts inside onto his right and fires towards the near corner, forcing Ederson into a decent save down to his right. From the resulting corner, Tsimikas clips it in and finds Van Dijk, whose header is saved by Ederson.
07:01pm
Nyoni has yet again been fantastic for Liverpool tonight, with the latest example being him tracking back as Fenerbahce attempted to counter and taking the ball off Kahveci.
06:59pm
Ngumoha is brought down by Greenwood down Liverpool's left to give the visitors a decent opportunity to send the ball into the Fenerbahce penalty area. Szoboszlai though wastes it as he puts too much on it and the cross is easily caught by Ederson.
06:57pm
Tsimikas clips in a cross from the right and picks out Mac Allister but the Argentine's header is easily saved by Ederson.
06:55pm
Liverpool work it brilliantly from back to front before Ngumoha wins them a corner out on the left after his cross was blocked by former Wolves man Semedo. Szoboszlai clips it into a dangerous area but the whistle goes as Van Dijk is penalised for a clear push on Kahveci.
06:50pm
We are back under way in Istanbul.
06:43pm
06:41pm
AEK Athens 1 Real Madrid 1 HT
Fenerbahce 1 Liverpool 1 HT
Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis 8pm
Lens vs Como 8pm
PSV vs Club Brugge 8pm
Porto vs Napoli 8pm
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City 8pm
Slavia Prague vs Arsenal 8pm
Viking vs Sabah 8pm
06:37pm
Possession:Fenerbahce 31%-69% Liverpool
Shots:8-9
Shots on target:2-1
Corners:2-6
Touches in opposition box:11-13
06:34pm
The first half in Istanbul is brought to an end and we are all square heading into the break. Liverpool took the lead through Nyoni but Greenwood's deflected free-kick has Fenerbahce on level terms at half-time.
06:33pm
One added minute at the end of this first half.
06:32pmAnalysis
Greenwood has been Fenerbahce's best player by far tonight and he tests Alisson. Lukaku finds Greenwood with a pass forward down the left channel and, from inside the Liverpool penalty area, the latter forces Alisson into a decent save.
What started off as an encouraging performance has descended into something ordinary at best for Liverpool. They are being overrun in midfield and the pace of Greenwood down Fenerbahce's right has the beating of Kostas Tsimikas on every occasion. Andoni Iraola will be delighted to get in for half-time all square - if Liverpool can see it out.
06:27pm
Greenwood has an opportunity from the right side of the box. He tries to beat Alisson at his near post but drags it wide.
06:25pm
Munoz's cross from near the byline is met by Barcola and the Frenchman's header goes narrowly wide of the far post.
06:24pm
Tsimikas' inswinging corner from the right is put into a dangerous area and Skriniar's header goes over his own bar for another on the other side. Szoboszlai feeds one in towards the near post and Lukaku heads away.
06:21pmAnalysis
Mason Greenwood is having his name bellowed around the stadium though the deflection off Jeremy Jacquet is the only reason he has scored. Emotions are running high in the stadium, especially in the press box which seems to be an overspill for home supporters. One of Trey Nyoni's former coaches has an observer's seat here and he cheered why Nyoni scored. Greenwood's leveller saw those who had taken umbrage at something so inoffensive return the cheering ten-fold with some pretty colourful gestures, too.
06:16pmKey moments • Goals
The hosts are back on level terms. Fenerbahce have a free-kick not far outside the Liverpool penalty area, one that should never have been given after Szoboszlai is penalised for a foul on Kante that was not a foul. Greenwood steps up to take and his free-kick takes a huge deflection off Jacquet. That deflection takes it away from Alisson and into the Liverpool net. Alisson is not impressed with his wall.
06:15pm
Fenerbahce are inches away from equalising moments after going behind as they hit the frame of the goal. Brown's cross from the left side of the box finds Kahveci, whose shot comes back off the bar. It would have been a very close call with offside had the ball gone in.
06:13pmKey moments • Goals • Video
The visitors take the lead in Istanbul and it is 19-year-old Nyoni who scores. A cross from Szoboszlai into the Fenerbahce penalty area is headed out to the edge of the box, where Nyoni volleys it first time. The shot takes a small deflection off Oppong and beats Ederson.
06:12pm
Fenerbahce want a penalty. The ball is played in behind the Liverpool defence and Greenwood takes a sensational first touch. Tsimikas races back and there is a small push on Greenwood, who goes down. The referee waves the appeals away and the VAR clears the incident.
06:09pm
Should Barcola have done better there? Ngumoha finds Gomez in acres of space out on the right. Gomez then first time delivers a very dangerous cross right through the corridor of uncertainty looking for Barcola but the Frenchman cannot connect.
06:06pmAnalysis
Munoz wins Liverpool a corner out on the right after Yuksek blocked the cross from the Spaniard. Szoboszlai's outswinger is headed away at the near post by Yuksek, who has made two good defensive actions in a matter of moments.
Liverpool have so much more quality on the ball when they keep possession but the final ball - especially from the left hand side - is letting them down at the moment. They are making light of a sodden pitch and some overzealous attempts by Fenerbahce to disrupt them. The first 15 minutes has been played out primarily to a soundtrack of high-pitched whistling but, looking at those fans around us, none of them are getting involved. Could it be the whistles are being piped in on a pre-recorded file?
06:01pm
Szoboszlai hits the free-kick but ends up hitting his own man. The effort did appear to be going on target but Munoz got in the way. Liverpool's plan to set up a mini wall of their own to block out the view of Ederson backfired.
06:00pm
Ngumoha shows great footwork to skip past a few Fenerbahce defenders before Kante barges right into the back of the English teenager to give Liverpool a free-kick not far outside the Fenerbahce penalty area.
Szoboszlai is standing over it...
05:59pm
Liverpool have dominated possession in these early stages and have settled into the game well. Fenerbahce may not be in the best of form but this is still a tricky away trip.
05:52pm
Liverpool come close to the opening goal of the game. Tsimikas' cross from the left comes all the way to the back post, where Munoz hits it. The Spaniard scuffs his effort and the ball comes to Barcola, who also scuffs his shot. The ball comes back to Munoz, whose powerful shot is parried behind by Ederson for a corner.
Fenerbahce deal with the initial delivery but Liverpool keep it alive. Szoboszlai sends in a dangerous delivery, which Jacquet meets, but the Frenchman's header from six yards out goes wide. Jacquet should have done better with that chance.
05:48pm
Before we get going, we pause to pay tribute to Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died the other day.
We are under way in Istanbul, with the weather similar tonight in Turkey as to what it was like in Barcelona last night. Can Liverpool make it four wins from four in this season's Champions League?
05:42pm
Both sides emerge from the tunnel into the pouring rain and we are moments away from kick-off in Istanbul. Here is a reminder of how the two sides line up this evening:
Fenerbahce:Ederson; Semedo, Skriniar, Oppong, Brown; Guendouzi, Kante, Yuksek; Greenwood, Lukaku, Kahveci.
Substitutes: Cetin, Akurktoglu, Demir, Muldur, Muriqi, Mercan, Elmaz, Nene, Aydin, Mimovic.
Liverpool:Alisson; Gomez, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Nyoni, Munoz, Barcola, Ngumoha.
Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo, Araujo, Chambers, McConnell, Danns, Koumas.
05:32pm
A remarkable little stat for you to digest before kick-off. So many of Fenerbahce's team were Premier League regulars, which begged the question - is this a team with more English top-flight experience than Liverpool? The answer is here: Liverpool's starting line-up has 1241 Premier League appearances. Fenerbahce have 1086.
05:29pm
"I think we have been [rotating] basically all the season. You play every three, four days you have to refresh the legs. The defensive positions we do not have as many options. We have injuries but offensively I think we can rotate a little bit and today we can see other players."
On Bradley Barcola playing as a central striker:
"I think Bradley, even Victor [Munoz], are players that are wingers but have played sometimes up front. I think we should be mobile. I think we should attack the spaces that are there. They are there to have good combinations outside. We do not expect them to stay there as the nine. I think Bradley can do this job very well."
05:23pm
The Hungarian has been struggling of late with a hamstring injury but, having returned to the matchday squad on Sunday against Arsenal, he is now back into the starting XI tonight.
Dominik Szoboszlai is in Liverpool's starting XI this evening - PA/Adam Davy
05:20pm
05:14pm
Liverpool 0 Arsenal 1 (Premier League)
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 (League Cup, Liverpool won on penalties)
Liverpool 2 Brighton 0 (Premier League)
Liverpool 4 Villarreal 3 (Champions League)
Brentford 1 Liverpool 2 (Premier League)
05:07pm
There has been a deluge in Istanbul today and packermacs, rather half-and-half scarves, have been the commodity to sell outside the stadium. But will it be raining goals for Andoni Iraola? Yes, yes it's an awful joke but, occasionally dear reader, they have to be made! On a serious point, Iraola spoke in his pre-match news conference about the need for his team to improve the quality of their attacking play and it will be fascinating to see how Bradley Barcola plays as a central striker against a Fenerbahce team made up primarily of former Premier League stars. It is the first time Fenerbahce have played Liverpool but the locals are not holding out any hopes of springing an upset.
05:02pm
04:56pm
"I think there is a lot of potential, I think everybody showed it already individually at times, either at the club or at another club, like Bradley [Barcola] obviously just came. I think he showed brilliance at Paris Saint-Germain and he showed it as well this year. We have to get to know each other very well. I think from that moment on it can only be better than it is already now. There are only good things and positive things we can look forward to."
04:50pm
Fenerbahce:Ederson; Semedo, Skriniar, Oppong, Brown; Guendouzi, Kante, Yuksek; Greenwood, Lukaku, Kahveci.
Substitutes: Cetin, Akurktoglu, Demir, Muldur, Muriqi, Mercan, Elmaz, Nene, Aydin, Mimovic.
Liverpool:Alisson; Gomez, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Nyoni, Munoz, Barcola, Ngumoha.
Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo, Araujo, Chambers, McConnell, Danns, Koumas.
04:46pm
04:43pm
AEK Athens vs Real Madrid 5.45pm
Fenerbahce vs Liverpool 5.45pm
Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis 8pm
Lens vs Como 8pm
PSV vs Club Brugge 8pm
Porto vs Napoli 8pm
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City 8pm
Slavia Prague vs Arsenal 8pm
Viking vs Sabah 8pm
04:39pm
Andoni Iraola says he will not waste any more time thinking about the penalty Liverpool were denied against Arsenal and won't seek an explanation from Pro Ref. There was a significant fallout following the 1-0 loss at Anfield on Sunday with many judges believing Stuart Attwell, who was VAR, should have consulted match official Andy Madley to highlight an obvious pull by Jurrien Timber that prevented Alexander Isak heading a Bradley Barcola cross.
Liverpool's head coach explained in the heat of the moment that he would tell his players to go down if they felt contact in the area and Cody Gakpo, the Netherlands international, explained last night in Istanbul it was a message the squad had taken on board.
"As a team, we play pretty fair – maybe we should dive some more like the gaffer said," Gakpo, who also had claims to be awarded a penalty against Arsenal, explained. "On both occasions you could have given a penalty or a foul, but they decided not. We have to live with the decision. That's it."
But as angry as he was with the situation, Iraola has drawn a line on the matter. He is not going to seek out Pro Ref for a discussion – even though he feels a number of decisions have gone against Liverpool this season – and is channelling his energy into other situations.
Iraola said: "I didn't ask for an explanation and I haven't received an explanation, no. I told you what you I think about the plays but, honestly, I don't have the time to [speak to Pro Ref]. I have been preparing for Fenerbahce. It is just two days between games so I have just been focusing on this game and the opposition and how to prepare the team."
04:32pm
04:30pm
04:27pmKey moments
Liverpool have made the long trip to Turkey to take on Fenerbahce on matchday four of the Champions League.
Liverpool enter this fixture having won all three Champions League matches thus far, beating Atletico Madrid, LASK and Villarreal to make it nine points from nine for Andoni Iraola's side. Liverpool's five-game unbeaten streak was ended by Arsenal in the league on Sunday. They return to the city where the club enjoyed one of their most memorable nights, beating AC Milan in the Champions League final 21 years ago.
"Istanbul is always going to be very special for Liverpool," Iraola said. "It is difficult to find a more important night. Tomorrow [tonight] it won't be easy, you talk about statistics, especially English teams playing here. They have very good players and a very good squad, they know how to play in this competition. We have to start strong in the game. It is very early in the season to establish comparisons. We want to continue how we have done in the Champions League, three games and nine points, it is a good chance to get to 12 points and then finish in the top eight. Champions League away is very difficult."
Liverpool are aiming to make it four wins out of four in this season's Champions League - Getty Images/Cemal Yurttas
In addition to the long-term absentees Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni, both Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong have missed the trip to Turkey.
Fenerbahce have made a slow start to their Champions League campaign, taking just two points from their opening three fixtures. They have drawn twice against Roma and Slavia Prague at home whilst they suffered a heavy 6-0 loss at Aston Villa. Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt has been appointed their interim coach following the resignation of Ismail Kartal following their recent defeat to arch rivals Galatasaray just over a week ago.
"It is a great opportunity for us to show what we can do," Kuyt said. "It is also a great opportunity for me, a game between two teams that are very important to me. We have a very good plan, and we have to believe in this plan. No-one who loves Fenerbahce is happy with the current situation, but this is a huge opportunity. We have players who have won the Champions League and the World Cup."
They come into tonight's match having lost back-to-back league games since drawing against Slavia Prague on matchday three of the Champions League. They have plenty of former Premier League players in their ranks, including Ederson, N'Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku.
Team news to follow shortly.
