Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahce in Turkey, ending their perfect Champions League record and marking their second consecutive loss across all competitions. The Reds had gone ahead twice in the match, but late goals from Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi sealed the comeback for the Turkish side.
Trey Nyoni scored his first senior goal to open the scoring, but Mason Greenwood's deflected free-kick levelled the game. Alexander Isak, introduced in the second half, netted his first European goal for the club three minutes after coming on. However, the late strikes condemned Liverpool to a second defeat in less than a week, following a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal.
Carragher calls out Ngumoha situation
Liverpool's hierarchy has come under fierce criticism from Jamie Carragher, who questioned the club's spending as Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha flourish this season. The teenage duo have made a combined 25 appearances across all competitions and have grown in importance under head coach Andoni Iraola.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Carragher lamented the situation that has led the pair to make strong cases for starting spots over senior players like Bradley Barcola and Ryan Gravenberch. "The squad Liverpool have got is very expensive but not as good as it should be and not as balanced as it should be," he said.
"What's a bit of a worry for the people who run the club is that Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha were the best players for Liverpool, and they were a week or so ago against Chelsea. But they also play in a position of players where Liverpool have spent big money."
Carragher highlighted Barcola's £120m move, noting the younger players are outperforming him. He also pointed to big contracts given to Gravenberch and Szoboszlai this summer, saying: "It doesn't matter the figures, but you can imagine the type of figures they will be on. When a young player in midfield is playing ahead of them, that causes a problem about where you've spent your money. You basically haven't spent your money well enough."
Lesson must be learned
Trey Nyoni may have opened his professional account with his goal in Wednesday's clash, but the 19-year-old admitted his side must learn their lesson from the disappointing defeat. The Reds have conceded three times in their last three European games, and Nyoni believes it is a pattern they must stop falling victim to.
He said: "We knew it was going to be a difficult night. Coming away to Turkey, it's hard, the environment we're in, the crowd, the atmosphere, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. We are disappointed.
"I think we had the game and then had lapses of concentration. All the goals we conceded, I said before the game football at this level is about fine margins. If you don't concentrate then you get punished.
"In the first half and second half we started really well, but the next step for us as a team is to be more consistent over the 90 and see out wins. It's another lesson that we need to build on."
