Kuijt calls Fenerbahçe's win over Liverpool an Istanbul wonder

2 min See us more often on Google. Dirk Kuijt calls it a miracle that Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool on Wednesday evening in the Champions League. The Turkish side of the Dutch interim‑coach was too strong for The Reds with a 3‑2 win, where Virgil van Dijk started in the lineup. “I thank our chairman”, he added after the 3‑2 victory.

Liverpool came ahead twice, but in the end Fenerbahçe held out the longest.

“What I learned at Liverpool is never to give up”, the interim‑coach said.

“Before the match I told my players: ‘Years ago a miracle happened in Istanbul. Liverpool came back from a 3‑0 deficit and won the Champions League. No one expected Liverpool to win the Champions League. Maybe many people don’t believe it, but I do. Let’s create a miracle together’”, Kuijt says.

“We have a plan, we have a philosophy, but above all our players must believe in it. If you do, you can beat the best teams in the world. If you believe, you can beat any team in the world.”

The match against his former club Liverpool was his first, but directly also his last match as interim‑coach.

He wished Emre Belözoğlu much success and said it would be great if the players go to training tomorrow with this positive feeling.