Fenerbahce 3-2 Liverpool: Sloppy Reds wilt in Turkey again as Dirk Kuyt masterminds famous Champions League win against his error-strewn old side

The mad metropolis of Istanbul was the setting for one of Liverpool’s greatest nights, when this storied old club won the 2005 Champions League final down the road at the Ataturk Stadium – but right now fans will be glad to see the back of Turkey for a while.

For the third time in just over 13 months, the English giants have travelled to the bustling hub on the banks of the Bosphorus only to wilt amid the deafening noise of a Turkish football stadium.

They lost twice to Galatasaray last season and now, over the river to the Asian side of the intercontinental Istanbul, Liverpool fell flat at the hands of Fenerbahce – thanks to two Englishmen and a friend-turned-foe in the dugout.

Mason Greenwood and Archie Brown, born in Bradford and Birmingham respectively, both scored for Fenerbahce before Vedat Muriqi scored a winner as caretaker manager Dirk Kuyt, once a cult hero at Anfield, recorded a win in his final game in the dugout.

He will soon be replaced by ex-Newcastle and 101-cap Turkey midfielder Emre Belozoglu but Kuyt will not be forgetting this evening in a hurry in front of a raucous, hostile crowd in the district of Kadikoy.

As for Liverpool, who jetted home straight after the game and were due to land around 2am English time, they and boss Andoni Iraola were just glad to get out of Turkey, probably with their ears still ringing.

It was a poor night for Liverpool as they went down 3-2 against Fenerbahce in Istanbul

Andoni Iraola's side let a second-half lead slip and there were some terrible errors

Archie Brown sunk to his knees in celebration at full-time as the home crowd erupted

Trey Nyoni had scored his first goal in professional football and then Alexander Isak headed home to put Liverpool 2-1 up two minutes after coming on as a substitute but they were undone by sloppy defensive errors.

That will give Iraola plenty to ponder in the coming weeks given his side have conceded nine goals in their last three European games, all to opposition that would not be counted as part of the continent’s best in LASK, Villarreal and now Fenerbahce.

Aside from a UEFA Super Cup triumph over Chelsea at the home of Besiktas in 2019, Liverpool have struggled in this country and their last Turkish delight came against Trabzonspor, who now employ a certain Mohamed Salah, back in 2010.

Fenerbahce and Kuyt celebrated a famous win – as did around 45,000 home fans who produced deafening whistles every time Liverpool had the ball.

It was a true attack on the senses and Iraola’s side felt it, with several passes going astray as Kuyt’s men had the best of the first-half action and were unlucky to go into the break level at 1-1.

Liverpool had gone ahead on 25 minutes through Nyoni’s first goal in professional football, when a header from English full back Brown fell straight into the path of the Reds midfielder, who charged on to the ball like he was Steven Gerrard.

He needed a deflection off defender Kojo Peprah Oppong but cared not a jot as his volley ended up beating former Manchester City man Ederson.

It continued a stellar season for 19-year-old Nyoni, who has had a fairytale week that included a first Premier League start, first professional goal and also talks over a bumper new contract. To say it would be deserved would be the understatement of the season.

Trey Nyoni opened the scoring for the Reds but his goal came in a losing effort

Alexander Isak headed Liverpool back in front after some terrible Fenerbahce defending

Nyoni’s goal, in theory, should have helped Liverpool settle. As it was, it did anything but.

Fenerbahce came out roaring and hit the bar instantly through Irfan Can Kahveci. With the next attack, they were level, just four minutes after falling behind.

Just like Liverpool’s goal, the Turkish side needed a hefty deflection to help them. Greenwood took a free-kick from 25 yards, Jeremy Jacquet turned his back on it and foxed Alisson. Two Brazilian goalkeepers, two wicked deflections that neither could do anything about.

Alisson was the best away player on the pitch in that opening 45 minutes, thwarting Greenwood, the brute force of Romelu Lukaku and fellow former Premier League favourite N'Golo Kante, who is now 35 but still has the energy of the young whippersnapper we all knew and loved.

Iraola turned to his bench with a £285million triple-change and two of them combined just minutes later, Cody Gakpo crossing for Isak to head home his seventh of the season.

But just as when they went 1-0 ahead, Liverpool retreated and invited pressure. A Kante cross was not dealt with by Gakpo and Brown could ghost in at the back post to score.

Then, on 79 minutes, Muriqi thumped home a header to put Fenerbahce 3-2 up and on their way to a memorable night.

Liverpool, who would have taken a huge step towards qualification with a win here, still have work to do.