Fenerbahçe 3-2 Liverpool: Muriqi Header Completes Set-Piece Comeback as Reds' 68% Possession Goes Unrewarded

Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool 3-2 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi on Wednesday night, overturning a 2-1 deficit with two set-piece goals in the final 17 minutes. Liverpool controlled the ball for 68% of the match and took 22 shots to Fenerbahçe's 17, but the home side scored three times from dead-ball situations and headers to take all three points in the Champions League.

Liverpool's territorial dominance was comprehensive. They completed 475 passes at 90% accuracy to Fenerbahçe's 186 at 72%, and played 262 passes in the opposition half compared to 90. They took 12 corners to Fenerbahçe's four and registered 35 touches in the box to the home side's 17. The shot count finished 22-13 in Liverpool's favour, with six on target apiece.

But the expected goals map tells a different story. Fenerbahçe finished with 1.70 xG to Liverpool's 1.57, and the split between open play and set pieces explains why. Liverpool generated 1.12 xG from open play to Fenerbahçe's 0.98, but the home side dominated set-piece xG 0.71 to 0.45. Both teams created four big chances. The difference was that Fenerbahçe converted three of theirs, all from set plays or second phases.

Liverpool took the lead in the 25th minute through Trey Nyoni, the 17-year-old midfielder finishing a move worth just 0.08 xG with a right-footed strike. It was Nyoni's first Champions League goal and came against the run of play in a first half where Liverpool had 69% possession but only one shot on target to Fenerbahçe's two.

Fenerbahçe responded four minutes later. Mason Greenwood curled a right-footed free kick past the Liverpool wall in the 29th minute, a set piece worth 0.03 xG that levelled the match. It was Greenwood's first goal of the Champions League campaign and shifted the momentum before half-time, even as Liverpool continued to dominate the ball.

The first half ended 1-1, with Liverpool having taken nine shots to Fenerbahçe's eight but only one on target. Fenerbahçe had won 16 duels to Liverpool's 21, and the home side's 4-2-3-1 was sitting deeper, inviting pressure and looking to spring on the counter or win set pieces in dangerous areas.

Liverpool retook the lead in the 69th minute through Alexander Isak, who headed home from Cody Gakpo's assist. The chance was worth 0.30 xG, the highest-quality opportunity of the match for either side, and it came from open play as Liverpool finally found a way through Fenerbahçe's low block.

The lead lasted four minutes. Archie Brown scored from a corner in the 73rd minute, a left-footed finish worth 0.35 xG, the second-highest xG chance of the game. Brown's goal came directly from a corner, and it exposed Liverpool's vulnerability from set pieces, an issue that had been present all match. Fenerbahçe had generated 0.59 xG from set plays in the second half alone.

Six minutes later, Vedat Muriqi completed the turnaround. The striker headed home from a throw-in situation in the 79th minute, assisted by Brown, with the chance worth 0.16 xG. It was the third goal Liverpool had conceded from a set piece or second phase, and it came from a throw-in, the most basic of restarts.

Liverpool pushed for an equaliser in the final 11 minutes, but Fenerbahçe's defence held. Alexis Mac Allister was booked in the 85th minute for a foul as the visitors' frustration grew. Liverpool finished the match with 22 shots but only six on target, and their 35 touches in the box yielded just two goals. Fenerbahçe, by contrast, had 17 touches in the box and scored three times.

The result leaves Liverpool with questions about their set-piece defending and their ability to convert territorial dominance into goals. Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, have a blueprint for beating elite opposition: concede possession, defend deep, and punish from dead balls. It is a formula that worked perfectly at the Şükrü Saracoğlu, and it is one that Liverpool will need to solve quickly if they are to progress in this competition.