Dirk Kuijt led Fenerbahçe to a 3-2 Champions League upset against Liverpool on Wednesday. The interim coach watched his side fall behind 0-1 and 1-2 before they fought back for three points in the multi-billion spectacle.
Virgil van Dijk started in his usual central defensive role for Liverpool, while Cody Gakpo was on the bench. Ryan Gravenberch missed out through injury. N'Golo Kanté, Archie Brown, Romelu Lukaku and Mason Greenwood started for the home side.
Liverpool took the lead after 25 minutes in rainy Istanbul. Trey Nyoni shot from just outside the penalty area and watched the ball fly into the Turkish goal. Shortly afterwards, Irfan Kahveci hit the crossbar at the other end for Fenerbahçe.
Fenerbahçe pressed for a quick equaliser and appealed for a penalty after Konstantinos Tsimikas pushed Greenwood over. Clement Turpin waved away the appeals and booked Kuijt for protesting. The equaliser arrived after half an hour when a Greenwood free-kick flew past the helpless Allison Becker via the wall.
Shortly before half-time, Bradley Barcola headed just wide and Allison denied Greenwood. After the break, Ederson clawed away Van Dijk's header. Víctor Muñoz was particularly busy in the Turkish half for Liverpool.
Andoni Iraola brought on Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Gakpo crossed from the left and Isak headed home from close range: 1-2. Liverpool's lead didn't last long. An inswinging cross reached Brown, who fired into an empty net at the far post.
With Brown ahead of him, Vedat Muriqi leapt high and headed the ball into the left corner to put Fenerbahçe in front. It was another setback for Liverpool, shortly after their 0-1 Premier League defeat to Arsenal.