Liverpool led twice in Istanbul and lost 3–2. All three Fenerbahçe goals came from set pieces: a deflected free kick, a short corner and a throw-in, the last two at 73' and 79', after Isak had put Liverpool 2–1 up.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Fenerbahçe | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 68% | 32% |
| Shots | 22 | 17 |
| On target | 7 | 6 |
| xG | 1.82 | 1.78 |
| Touches in opp. box | 35 | 17 |
| Corners | 12 | 4 |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 40% / 22% / Fenerbahçe 38% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Gomez, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Nyoni, Mac Allister, Muñoz, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha, Barcola.
Fenerbahçe (4-2-3-1): Ederson, Semedo, Škriniar, Oppong, Brown, Yüksek, Kanté, Greenwood, Guendouzi, Kahveci, Lukaku.
Fenerbahçe subs: Muriqi (63', Lukaku), Müldür (75', Semedo), Aktürkoğlu (75', Kahveci), Aydın (89', Greenwood) (FotMob). Fenerbahçe coach: Dirk Kuyt (interim).
Booked: Brown (25', dissent), Kuyt (25', dissent, on the bench), Mac Allister (85') (FotMob). Attendance 39,536 (FotMob). Possession, shots, xG and touches in the box from FotMob; shots on target and corners from Bundesliga.com's UEFA match data, which counts 16 and 19 shots without blocked ones. FotMob's timeline has Greenwood's goal at 27'; Opta, ESPN and Liverpool FC put it at 29'.
Key moments, move by move
- Szoboszlai sends a deep ball towards Van Dijk at the far post (Liverpool FC).
- Fenerbahçe head it away, but only down into the area, and the ball sits up loose (Liverpool FC, Al Jazeera).
- Nyoni runs onto it and hits a low volley (Al Jazeera, Flashscore).
- It deflects off Oppong and wrong-foots Ederson: Nyoni's first senior goal, at 19 years and 127 days (Al Jazeera, Opta Analyst).
- Fenerbahçe have a free kick about 20 yards out (Liverpool FC). Iraola said afterwards the wall was not set properly (Liverpool FC).
- Greenwood's shot hits Jacquet, who turns in the wall (Flashscore, Opta Analyst).
- The deflection wrong-foots Alisson and the ball skids in (Al Jazeera, Liverpool FC).
- Three substitutes came on at 66': Wirtz, Isak and Gakpo (FotMob).
- Gakpo and Tsimikas exchange passes on the left (Al Jazeera).
- Gakpo breaks down the left to the byline (Liverpool FC, Al Jazeera).
- His cross finds Isak inside the six-yard box, and Isak heads in with his first touch (Liverpool FC, Opta Analyst).
- Fenerbahçe take a corner short, and the ball comes to Kanté (Al Jazeera).
- Kanté crosses into the box (Al Jazeera, Liverpool FC).
- Gakpo gets a glancing header to it, but only flicks it on, away from Alisson (Al Jazeera, Flashscore). Iraola said the noise made communication between Alisson and Gakpo difficult (Liverpool FC).
- Brown, unmarked at the far post, taps it in (Liverpool FC, Flashscore).
- Fenerbahçe's throw-in is headed back to Brown, and he loops the ball deep into the box (Al Jazeera, Liverpool FC).
- Muriqi, on since 63', rises above Jacquet (Flashscore). Iraola: he won it against three defenders (Liverpool FC).
- His header goes into the bottom corner: his first Champions League goal, in his ninth appearance (Liverpool FC, Opta Analyst).
Liverpool had the ball and the better start; Fenerbahçe had the dead balls
- Who played. Five changes from the Arsenal game. Iraola said Muñoz and Ngumoha started because they were fresher, Isak was meant for about 30 minutes, and he wanted to test Barcola through the middle because his speed suited the match-ups (Liverpool FC). Gravenberch was out with a heel problem (Liverpool FC).
- The first half. Liverpool had four shots in the first five minutes, their fastest start in a Champions League game since March 2009 (Opta Analyst). Nyoni's deflected volley made it 1–0 at 25'. Four minutes later Greenwood's free kick hit Jacquet in the wall and went in; Iraola said the wall was not set properly (Liverpool FC). Kahveci hit the bar from close range before half-time (Opta Analyst).
- The changes. At 66' Wirtz, Isak and Gakpo came on for Gomez, Muñoz and Ngumoha (FotMob). Within three minutes Gakpo went past Fenerbahçe on the left and Isak headed in his cross with his first touch (Opta Analyst, Liverpool FC). Kuyt had already sent on Muriqi for Lukaku at 63' (FotMob).
- The last 20 minutes. Brown scored at the far post after a short corner at 73', and Muriqi headed in Brown's looped ball after a throw-in at 79' (Liverpool FC, Al Jazeera). Iraola: "The main reason I can find to lose the game is we conceded [from] three set-pieces" (Liverpool FC). Over 90 minutes Liverpool had 68% of the ball and 12 corners to 4, and the xG was almost level, 1.82 to 1.78 (FotMob, Bundesliga.com).
Tactical scenes
With Barcola in the middle, Liverpool's width on the left came from Ngumoha, 18, who kept taking on Fenerbahçe's right side one against one. Most Liverpool attacks in the first hour went through him, and Barcola, Muñoz and Mac Allister arrived in the box for the crosses and cut-backs.
Evidence: Ngumoha completed 7 of 10 dribbles and won 12 of 18 duels before he went off at 66' (Opta Analyst, FotMob). He is the youngest English player to start each of his side's first four Champions League games of a campaign (Opta Analyst). Opta Analyst: Fenerbahçe 3-2 Liverpool · FotMob match page
Liverpool won three times as many corners as Fenerbahçe and had the taller players in the box, but Ederson held the best of them: Van Dijk's header from Tsimikas' corner was caught, and Jacquet headed a Szoboszlai cross wide. At the other end, Fenerbahçe scored from three of their dead balls.
Evidence: Corners 12 to 4 for Liverpool (Bundesliga.com, UEFA match data). Fenerbahçe scored from a free kick, a corner and a throw-in, and Iraola called it the main reason Liverpool lost (Liverpool FC). Bundesliga.com: match stats · Liverpool FC match report · Liverpool FC: Iraola's press conference
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's rotated 4-2-3-1 with Barcola up front · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's rotated 4-2-3-1 with Barcola up front
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alisson | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Gomez | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Jacquet | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Tsimikas | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Nyoni | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Mac Allister | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Muñoz | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Szoboszlai | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Ngumoha | Winger | Wide Outlet Winger |
| ST | Barcola | Channel Forward | Splitting Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- DribblingEncouraged
- PatienceWork Ball Into Box
- Crossing StyleBalanced
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineHigher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: Keep the ball, give one young winger the job of beating his full-back, and use a fast Channel Forward to stretch the back four. It needs set-piece marking that holds when the ball is played short.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce the noise that Iraola said made communication almost impossible, or a wall that turns its back.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Araújo on at 74' (for Tsimikas), Isak on at 55' (for Barcola). Keep the 4-2-3-1, but bring Isak on earlier for Barcola and Araújo on for the last quarter of an hour. Better headers at one end and fewer free ones at the other; the set-piece marking still had to be better. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 40% to 46% (xG 1.82–1.78 becomes 1.97–1.63). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Ronald Araújo
Fenerbahçe scored from a corner flick-on and a header from a throw-in in six minutes. Araújo started against Arsenal and is one of Liverpool's best defenders in the air; on for Tsimikas or Gomez, he gives the box one more body for the dead balls.
Gabriel Magalhães
All three goals came from set pieces, two of them from balls into the box. A centre-back who attacks the ball at the near post and wins headers there would have cleared Kanté's cross before Gakpo had to touch it, and given Liverpool's 12 corners a real target.
What the analysts said
“The main reason I can find to lose the game is we conceded [from] three set-pieces.”Andoni Iraola (Liverpool FC)
“Cheap goals. Messy goals.”Andoni Iraola (Irish Examiner)
“In the stadium it was almost impossible to communicate, it was difficult for me to give instructions.”Andoni Iraola (Irish Examiner)
“The thing is we conceded almost straight away.”Andoni Iraola (Irish Examiner)
“The win tonight was not an easy win, but it was not luck.”Dirk Kuyt (TimesLIVE)
“I'm very happy with all the players and all the people who were involved in making a miracle tonight.”Dirk Kuyt (Al Jazeera)
Liverpool lost in Istanbul at the dead balls, not in open play.
What's happening. Liverpool led twice and lost 3–2: their first Champions League defeat of the season and their second loss in four days. All three Fenerbahçe goals came from set pieces, a free kick, a corner and a throw-in. Liverpool have now conceded three in each of their last three European games, a first for the club (Opta Analyst).
How it works. Set-piece defending is a routine: who stands in the wall, who takes the near post, who follows the far-post runner. Five changes and a stadium where, Iraola said, it was almost impossible to communicate make routines harder to hold. A short corner or a short throw also moves the ball before the markers have reset. That is how Brown arrived unmarked at the far post.
What the shots say. FotMob had it almost level on xG, with Liverpool taking more shots and twice as many touches in the box. One reading: an even game lost on three dead balls, two of them helped by a deflection and a flick, and that kind of luck tends to even out. The other: ten goals conceded in four European games, and two free headers at the far post. That is a pattern to fix, not only bad luck.