Despite that in the end they were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal over the weekend, Liverpool fans mostly headed into the week feeling positive about that performance.
Given the Reds had dominated the defending league champions for long stretches and would have won without an extremely controversial non-penalty call, there was actually a case it was one of their best performances so far under new head coach Andoni Iraola.
Then came Fenerbahce on Wednesday. When rather than taking out any frustrations over the weekend’s
result on an opponent that looked overmatched on paper, Liverpool appeared less energetic, less motivated, and less effective.
“Everyone looked disappointed and they should be disappointed,” captain Virgil van Dijk said after the match, which ended 3-2 in favour of their Turkish opponents.
“We cannot lose in the manner we did, but it is down to Fenerbahce as well. But as a group have to go through good moments—but also less good moments. That can be beneficial because nobody wants to lose games how we did, so it can help us in the near future.
“We should not accept losing, especially in the manner we did—with the goals we conceded and the manner we conceded them. We switched off and weren’t ready for the first and second balls, so it’s a tough one to take.”
If there’s one silver lining, it’s that with two games a week most weeks there’s never much time to dwell on things or a too long wait to put things right, and Liverpool head to London on Sunday to take on Crystal Palace knowing three points will soothe any concerns.
“It’s massive,” Van Dijk added of the challenge Palace poses. “When we are preparing and recovering physically and mentally, we will be also looking forward. It’s always tough at Palace so I don’t expect anything different this time.”
