Kuyt's Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul

On a rainy evening in Istanbul, the 46‑year‑old Katwijk native Dirk Kuyt, interim coach of the Turkish top club Fenerbahçe, delivered a 3‑2 victory over his former club Liverpool, giving the Turks their first Champions‑League win since April 2008, to the great delight of the passionate supporters.

Triumph in Istanbul

Liverpool took the lead twice, first through 19‑year‑old midfielder Trey Nyoni after 25 minutes, after which goalkeeper Ederson was on the wrong foot; five minutes later Fenerbahçe equalised with a free kick from Mason Greenwood, which came off Jérémy Jacquet in the wall. In the 69th minute Cody Gakpo delivered a cross for Alexander Isak, who restored the lead, and four minutes later Gakpo headed a cross from N’Golo Kanté, allowing Archie Brown to make it 2‑2. The winning goal came in the 79th minute, when 32‑year‑old Vedat Muriqi, collected for Romelu Lukaku, headed the ball in.

Muriqi scored 23 goals in 36 matches for Real Mallorca last season, but could not save the Spanish club from relegation; after his summer transfer he returned to Fenerbahçe, where he already netted 17 goals in 36 games in 2019/2020. This season he has nine goals in 17 matches, while Lukaku has only one strike after 15 games.

Club history and staff

The latest update from Sport, dated 5 November 2026, reports that Fenerbahçe presented Emre Belözoğlu as the new head coach on Tuesday evening, a week after the departure of Ismail Kartal; it is still unclear whether Emre has a place in his technical staff for Kuyt. Kuyt experienced a disappointing debut on Saturday evening as interim coach, when Fenerbahçe fell 1‑2 to Göztepe after leading 1‑0. The victory over Liverpool is the first Champions‑League win for Fenerbahçe since 2 April 2008, when they beat Chelsea 2‑1 in the quarter‑finals.

That evening Colin Kazim‑Richards and Deivid scored for the Turks; a week later Chelsea returned to London and won 2‑0. In the 2008/2009 season Fenerbahçe took part in another group stage, but finished with four defeats and two draws. This was followed by nine further attempts to qualify, but the club repeatedly fell in the preliminary rounds. Last summer Fenerbahçe reached the group stage again by beating Górnik Zabrze, Sturm Graz and Olympique Lyon.

Future and consequences

After nine rounds, Liverpool sit nine points behind league leaders Arsenal in the Premier League; the defeat in Turkey coincides with a 0‑1 loss at Anfield against Mikel Arteta’s side. Next Sunday they travel to Crystal Palace for their away match in London.