Liverpool were the better side up until Trey Nyoni scored the opener, and then they were the better side for about five minutes following Alexander Isak’s second half introduction until he scored put them ahead once again.
Aside from that, though, Liverpool’s trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce wasn’t exactly peak entertainment from a Liverpool point of view, and while there wasn’t much about the Reds’ performance you would call outright awful there was a certain stale, lukewarm feeling to much of the match.
In the end, then, fans hoping to see a fired up side seeking a little catharsis following Sunday’s disappointing loss against Arsenal instead witnessed a game where it felt at times as if the team was rather going through the motions. Let’s dig into it…
Winners and Losers
Trey Nyoni
The 19-year-old started his third game in a row for the Reds, adding a start in the Champions League to ones in the League Cup and Premier League over the past week, and the highest praise you can offer the youngster is that you really just never feel concerned that it was him there rather than Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister at the base of midfield.
There’s not a lot of flash and flair, no mazy dribbles or seam-splitting passes—though we can hope perhaps that the latter will come with time—but he’s tactically and technically solid. Calm and composed and smart on and off the ball. He keeps it simple, does his job, and… wait, we’re hearing he scored Liverpool’s opening goal? He saw a half clearance falling into space off a corner, took it on the bounce, and smacked it into the back of the net?
Well. A little more than solid, then. Take a bow, Trey. Sadly, that might have been the game’s high point.
Kostas Tsimikas
If Nyoni made you feel calm when the action came close to him both on and off the ball, Tsimikas was the polar opposite. Nervy, a second late to react, prone to mishit crosses and questionable decisions. Fenerbahce were clearly targeting him, and on the evidence they were right to do so.
Alisson Becker
While expectations for Tsimikas are for the most part fairly measured given he spent last season on loan at Roma and few expected him to be in the club’s plans for the 2026-27 season, there’s been some growing concern around goalkeeper Alisson Becker over the past few weeks.
Beyond being one of the best shot stoppers in the world, the veteran Brazilian has long been highly regarded for his comfort on the ball and his command of the penalty area. It’s hard to think of any time in his Liverpool career, though, where Alisson has looked as shaky in those areas as in the past few weeks. Mishit short passes, long balls sailing straight out of bounds, and a growing hesitancy to take some of the riskier options he would have in the past has become the norm.
His on the ball play was again an issue tonight—and then he capped things off by staying rooted to his line as Fenerbahce’s looped cross for their winning goal hung in the air over the penalty spot for ages. By average goalkeeper standards, he’s probably still been just about fine. By Alisson Becker standards? Not so much.
Talking Centre Forwards
Heading into the season with just Alexander Isak as a fit, recognized senior striker always meant uncertainty when it came to who—if anyone—might be able to step up when the injury-prone Swedish star wasn’t available. Young Lewis Koumas has given a good, hard-working go of it, but having been asked to do more than perhaps he’s up to at this stage in his career already, tonight Andoni Iraola chose to deploy Bradley Barcola through the middle.
As has been the case when he and other managers have tried out Cody Gakpo as a makeshift centre forward, the results were less than convincing—though it’s hard to blame Barcola for that given, well, he’s simply not a striker. Without that, Liverpool lacked any kind of a focal point in attack through the first half and well into the second, and it was a major issue. Right up until the moment Alexander Isak stepped on the pitch.
His introduction in the 65th minute felt like a switch being flipped. Suddenly, Fenerbahce were pinned back and Liverpool were dominating the ball in the final third. In the 69th minute, fellow substitute Gakpo curled a cross in and Isak put the Reds up 2-1. It’s not Barcola’s (or Gakpo’s) fault he’s not that, but it’s clearly better to be able to play with a player actually capable of centre forward things out on the pitch.
Unfortunately, as was the case in the first half after Nyoni scored, Liverpool followed up the goal with loose and sloppy play and quickly conceded the equalizer. And then, with Alisson stuck rooted to his line, they conceded the winner. So it goes.
What Happens Next
That wasn’t what anyone was hoping for or expecting following Sunday’s loss to Arsenal, where the Reds played exceptionally and were the better side agains the Premier League’s defending champions but saw their efforts undermined by some unforgivably poor officiating.
They get one more chance to show a better reaction against Crystal Palace on Sunday before the club football gets put on pause for the November international break and players head off to join their national teams. Hopefully what we get then is a little more convincing than whatever the hell it was you want to call what we got today.
