Liverpool's Istanbul Collapse Exposes Iraola's Transition Problem

Liverpool twice led in Istanbul on Wednesday night and still lost. Trey Nyoni put them ahead in the 25th minute, Alexander Isak restored the advantage in the 69th, and yet Fenerbahçe scored three times — through Mason Greenwood, Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi — to win 3-2 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. It was Liverpool's first Champions League defeat of the season, leaving them on nine points from four league-phase matches, while Fenerbahçe moved to five.

The result itself is damaging enough. Automatic knockout qualification is a narrower path now. But the manner of the defeat — two leads surrendered, both quickly — raises a larger question about the balance of this Liverpool squad under Andoni Iraola, and whether the transition the club has undergone since the summer has left it unable to hold the kind of control that once defined its best teams.

On the surface, Liverpool dominated. They had 68 per cent possession, 22 shots to Fenerbahçe's 17, and 12 corners to the hosts' four. They also created four big chances, the same as Fenerbahçe. But the expected goals tell a different story: Fenerbahçe generated 1.70 xG from their 17 shots, while Liverpool managed 1.57 from 22. The hosts were more efficient with less of the ball, and they scored three times from six shots on target.

That is not a story of a side being overwhelmed. It is a story of a side that could not convert territorial dominance into defensive security. Liverpool's 68 per cent possession here stands well above their average of 51.4 across earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions. Their 12 corners here also far exceed their earlier average of 6.8. Yet the control those numbers suggest did not translate into the calm that protects a lead.

Reports from the match described Liverpool as making mistakes in their own box, conceding quickly after each goal they scored. That aligns with the raw numbers: Fenerbahçe's xG of 1.70 from 17 shots suggests they made their chances count, while Liverpool's 1.57 from 22 suggests wastefulness at one end and vulnerability at the other.

This is not an isolated result. Liverpool's league record under Iraola in 2026/2027 stands at four wins, three draws and two losses from nine matches — 1.67 points per game. Compare that with the benchmark set under Jürgen Klopp in 2019/2020, when Liverpool took 2.61 points per game across a 38-match Premier League season, winning 32, drawing three and losing three.

That comparison is not a demand that Iraola replicate a historically great campaign. It is a measure of how far the current side sits from the standard the club once set. The gap is not merely about results; it is about the balance that made those results possible. The 2019/2020 side could absorb pressure, control tempo and protect leads. This side, on the evidence of Istanbul, cannot yet do the same.

Some of that is explained by squad turnover. Since the summer, Liverpool have signed Ronald Araujo, Jérémy Jacquet, Lucca Brughmans, Djylian N'Guessan, Bradley Barcola and Víctor Muñoz. They have lost Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajčetić, Carter Pinnington, Ibrahima Konaté, Harvey Elliott and Andrew Robertson. That is a significant reshaping of the defensive and midfield core, and it helps explain why the earlier balance has not returned. New players need time to learn each other's movements, and the absence of experienced figures in key areas is felt most acutely in exactly the moments Liverpool struggled here: the minutes immediately after scoring.

Fenerbahçe were coached by interim manager Dirk Kuyt, a former Liverpool player, and his side's ability to overturn a lead twice suggests a tactical setup that targeted Liverpool's discomfort when protecting an advantage. Whether Kuyt's interim role was a decisive factor is a question the next matches will answer, but the pattern of Liverpool conceding soon after scoring is now a recurring theme.

The loss does not end Liverpool's Champions League campaign. Nine points from four matches leaves them in contention for automatic qualification, but the margin for error has shrunk. More importantly, it raises questions about whether Iraola can find the balance that this squad, in its current form, has not yet shown. The next few weeks will reveal whether Istanbul was a setback or a symptom.