Amid the wreckage of a grim night at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, silver linings were in painfully short supply for Andoni Iraola. Yet as Liverpool unravelled during a chaotic final 20 minutes in Turkey, their £125m summer signing provided at least one moment of genuine encouragement.
Just minutes after entering the pitch as part of a triple second-half substitution, Alexander Isak rose to nod home Cody Gakpo’s pinpoint delivery, opening his Champions League account for the Reds and briefly restoring a 2-1 lead.
That the advantage evaporated so rapidly Fenerbahçe striking twice in six minutes to condemn Liverpool to a 3-2 defeat left supporters reeling. Coming off the back of a frustrating domestic loss to Arsenal on Sunday, fans could be forgiven for feeling deeply anxious about the direction of travel under Iraola as the team heads into another international break.
Speaking to LFCTV after the final whistle, however, Isak offered a strikingly calm perspective on a night that threatened to set off alarm bells back on Merseyside.
Isak on Goals, Losses, and the Road Ahead
“I think we’ve put ourselves in good positions, so that, as today, if we lose games it’s not a chaos situation. We just need to get back to winning ways, and if we win the next game we’re back to a really good position.”
“I was happy with it at the time, I was hoping it was going to lead to more. I’m always happy to score goals but today we lost, so it takes a bit [away] from it.”
Bittersweet Milestone: Isak Delivers as Heavy Artillery Arrives
When Iraola turned to his bench on 65 minutes with the scores locked at 1-1, he unleashed his big guns. Off came the youth, on came Isak, Gakpo, and Florian Wirtz. Four minutes later, the gamble paid off. Gakpo clipped a delicate ball into the penalty area, and Isak timed his run to perfection, beating Ederson with a clinical header.
It was a goal Isak richly deserved after a patient integration period following his move from Newcastle United. On a night where so many in red fell well short of their usual standards, the Swedish international held his head high.
Yet the joy was short-lived. Structural failures at the back compounded by Archie Brown’s equaliser and Vedat Muriqi’s late header turned what should have been a victory landmark into a chastening post-mortem.
What It Means: Selhurst Park Test Will Verdict Liverpool’s Mood
Isak’s assessment that Liverpool do not face a “chaos situation” relies on arithmetic. Before this week’s missteps, Iraola’s men built a solid foundation both domestically and in Europe, taking nine points from their opening three Champions League fixtures.
Competition Recent Result Current Standing Next Fixture Premier League Lost 2-1 vs Arsenal 3rd Place Crystal Palace (Away) Champions League Lost 3-2 vs Fenerbahçe 5th Place (9 pts) PSV Eindhoven (Home) Carabao Cup Won 3-0 vs Bournemouth Quarter-Finals Sunderland (Home)
However, fan sentiment rarely operates purely on spreadsheets. Supporters watching the defensive fragility in Turkey know that Selhurst Park has broken Liverpool momentum many times before. Pierre Sage’s Crystal Palace are fighting for their own survival, setting up an intense atmosphere in South London.
If Liverpool secure three points at Palace on Sunday, Isak’s calm prognosis will prove accurate: a minor wobble safely navigated before the international break. But drop points again, and no amount of pragmatic post-match quotes will prevent the noise around Iraola’s defensive system from growing deafening.
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