Former Liverpool Star Dirk Kuyt Leads Fenerbahce to 3-2 Comeback Win Over Liverpool

By The Arena Staff

ISTANBUL, Nov. 5, 2026 — Dirk Kuyt spent six seasons at Liverpool. On Wednesday night, in only his second game as Fenerbahce's interim coach, he beat them.

Fenerbahce scored twice in six minutes after falling behind in the 69th minute for a 3-2 Champions League win at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, handing Liverpool its first loss in the competition this season. BBC Sport noted it was the latest Liverpool had ever taken a lead in a major European game and still lost.

Liverpool went ahead twice. Teenager Trey Nyoni scored his first goal for the club with a deflected shot in the 25th minute, and Mason Greenwood answered four minutes later when his free kick deflected in off Jeremy Jacquet in the wall. Alexander Isak headed Liverpool back in front in the 69th minute from a Cody Gakpo cross.

It lasted four minutes. Gakpo's glancing header on a set piece got past goalkeeper Alisson and left Archie Brown a tap-in for 2-2. In the 79th minute, Vedat Muriqi headed in Brown's looping ball for the winner. All three Fenerbahce goals came from set pieces.

"They are cheap goals. They are messy goals," Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola said. He added that the crowd made it nearly impossible to communicate on the field.

Kuyt, who joined Liverpool a year after its famous 2005 comeback to win the Champions League final in Istanbul, said he told his players to borrow that spirit. "We made a miracle tonight - not many expected us to win," he said, according to the BBC.

The loss was Liverpool's second in four days after falling to Arsenal on Sunday, ending a five-game winning streak before that. Liverpool had won its first three Champions League games. BBC Sport reported that Kuyt is now stepping aside, with Emre Belozoglu taking over as Fenerbahce's coach.

Sources: BBC Sport, Sky Sports and Reuters via Al Jazeera.