Andoni Iraola pulled no punches after watching Liverpool surrender their unbeaten Champions League run in a chaotic 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahçe, putting his side’s defensive set-piece failures squarely at the center of the blame.
Despite taking the lead twice in the Kadıköy cauldron—first through 19-year-old Trey Nyoni and later via Alexander Isak off the bench—the Reds were undone by three costly breakdowns from dead-ball situations.
Mason Greenwood’s deflected free-kick, Archie Brown’s equalizer off a corner scramble, and Vedat Muriqi’s late towering header from a long-throw phase wiped out Liverpool’s control and handed interim boss Dirk Kuyt a famous victory.
‘Cheap, Messy Goals’
Speaking in his post-match press conference, a frustrated Iraola pinpointed exact tactical lapses that proved fatal in Istanbul.
“The main reason that I can find for why we lost this game is we conceded from three set-pieces,” Iraola admitted. “It’s something that we were doing very well in the league, we were doing quite well until today. We knew it was one of the strengths of Fenerbahçe—we concede from a free-kick, a corner, and even from the long throw at the end”.
Iraola described the conceded goals as “cheap” and “messy,” pointing out that communication inside the deafening environment was nearly non-existent.
“In the stadium, it was almost impossible to communicate because it was so noisy,” Iraola added. “It was even difficult for me to give any kind of instruction. It was, I suppose, difficult there—the communication between Ali [Alisson] and Cody [Gakpo]. But these are situations that we definitely have to defend better”.
Rotation and Frontline Changes
Iraola also addressed his decision to make five changes to the starting lineup, which saw Bradley Barcola deployed centrally flanked by Victor Munoz and Rio Ngumoha, while Isak was limited to a second-half substitute role.
While Barcola posed speed threats in transitions, Iraola conceded that Liverpool looked vastly more lethal once Isak and Gakpo entered the pitch. However, the Basque manager rejected suggestions that rotation was the primary driver of the defeat.
“Because of the schedule that we have, it’s impossible to maintain with always the same starting XI,” Iraola explained. “I trust the squad to sustain the level. I don’t think it was the main reason why we lost… We have to look more at how we conceded the goals and the reason why we didn’t win”.
The defeat leaves Liverpool on nine points in the Champions League phase, while Iraola faces an immediate job in sorting out basic defensive organization before returning to domestic action.
