Liverpool will be determined never to head to Istanbul again following their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fenerbahce on Wednesday evening.

That’s the opinion of journalist Nihat Kahveci. He believes that Liverpool were left scared and intimated by the atmosphere at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

Andoni Iraola’s side suffered a shock defeat to their Turkish counterparts on Wednesday evening in the latest round of the Champions League league phase.

The Spaniard gambled with his team selection, and it appeared to have paid off as youngster Trey Nyoni volleyed Liverpool ahead in the 25^th minute. That made him the club’s youngster goalscorer in the Champions League.

However, defensive frailties soon saw Liverpool crumble. Fenerbahce equalised four minutes later through a deflected Mason Greenwood freekick.

Second half disaster

Iraola turned to his top talent at half time, introducing Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

It appeared to have paid off as Gakpo teed up Isak to head Liverpool in front in the 69^th minute. But again, that lead lasted just four minutes.

Miscommunication from Alisson saw Gakpo flick on a ball into the box, inadvertently teeing up Archie Brown for a simple tap in at the back post.

Vedat Muriqi then headed in from a long throw-in to complete the turnaround and a famous victory for the Turkish side. It was also their first in the Champions league this season.

Never again

Kahveci was watching on. He was extremely proud of the performance from Fenerbahce. And he believes Liverpool won’t want to return to Istanbul in a hurry.

“After 18 years, you find yourself in a group with Roma, Aston [Villa], and Slavia… You expect a win against Slavia, but it ends 2-2 after being up 2-0,” he said on the Kontraspor YouTube channel.

“Then comes Liverpool, the fourth match, a chaotic environment, a managerial change, a new coach arriving, the team out of form, individuals out of form, the squad as a whole out of form…

“Yet today, they stepped onto the pitch, and before the match, the hope was simply to see some fight. From the 1st minute to the 95th, we saw that fight. There wasn’t a single inch of the pitch left uncovered. Honestly, hats off to them—truly, hats off to them! I congratulate everyone who contributed.”

“This is Turkey, this is Istanbul, this is Kadıköy, there’s no way out! From this evening on, they’ll be adding ‘We’re not going to Istanbul’ to Liverpool’s club statutes. Once again, we’ve made Istanbul a nightmare for Liverpool. They will never again go to Istanbul. They should say, and they ought to say: ‘We’re not going!’ Let them stay away!”