Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the Champions League campaign with a 3-2 loss at Fenerbahce on Wednesday night, prompting national media to highlight defensive frailties and a failed attacking experiment.
Defensive lapses prove costly in Istanbul
The Guardian's Andy Hunter wrote that Andoni Iraola arrived in Istanbul seeking improvement from Liverpool's attack but departed with "sudden cause for concern at the opposite end of the pitch." Fenerbahce ignited Dirk Kuyt's interim spell with a tumultuous victory after Liverpool detonated their 100% Champions League record with several defensive lapses.
Liverpool's second successive defeat left Iraola exasperated for entirely different reasons to Sunday's loss to Arsenal. Blame was found only in the mirror this time around. The visitors led twice, through Trey Nyoni's first senior goal and a header from substitute Alexander Isak, but Fenerbahce twice hit back quickly and snatched victory when Vedat Muriqi emerged as the strongest player from a pack of red shirts. Fenerbahce's first goal came from a free-kick, their second from a corner and their third from a long throw-in.
Failed attacking experiment under scrutiny
On the pages of The Mirror, Samuel Meade reflected that having Bradley Barcola as the central point of Liverpool's attack was not going to be a long-term thing. The Frenchman was given the nod in one of the more surprising selection calls of the night, playing as the No 9 with Alexander Isak on the bench. Barcola's USP has long been his pace, best used out on the flanks, and he is not the most physical nor renowned for his ability to bring others into play. Meade noted it stunted Liverpool's attack, which relied heavily upon the individual quality of Rio Ngumoha.
If Iraola was looking to see how he'd manage if Isak was a long-term absentee as Hugo Ekitike remains sidelined, Meade concluded that Barcola will not be his answer. The natural No.9 needed only three minutes to find what would be the winner.
Kuyt's inspiration and a night of frustration
The Times' Peter Rutzler wrote that Istanbul will always be a special place for Liverpool supporters but visits to this city have become an exercise in pulling teeth when facing Turkish clubs. Fenerbahce, led by former Anfield favourite Dirk Kuyt, twice came from behind to secure a famous victory, leaving Liverpool winless in six visits to Istanbul's Super Lig sides and without a victory in Turkey at all since Kuyt was a Liverpool player 16 years ago.
Kuyt used Liverpool's 2005 Champions League final comeback against AC Milan in this city as inspiration, saying: "We told each other to stick together and be united, that's something I learned from Liverpool, we made a miracle tonight." Vedat Muriqi nodded home the winner with ten minutes left, outmuscling three defenders all too easily, but it was a night of frustration for Iraola, whose front-three experiment failed to ignite while uncharacteristic errors defending set pieces proved costly.
Manner of collapse alarms Iraola
The ECHO's own verdict stated that if the first two campaigns of the revamped Champions League are anything to go by, this defeat is only likely to be cosmetic damage for Liverpool. Reverses at Galatasaray and PSV in the last two terms haven't been enough to derail progress to the knockout stages. What should alarm Iraola most about this 3-2 loss is the manner of the collapse.
After substitute Alexander Isak had nodded the Reds into the lead with his first touch, that should have been enough for this team to shut up shop against a Fenerbahce side full of players whose best days are largely confined to a different era of the Premier League. Instead, Iraola's men had their senses scrambled by the Istanbul din, in a different kind of six crazy Istanbul minutes than the 2005 Champions League final comeback.
