Flawless, Liverpool are not. In the space of a few days lingering concerns are now stepping out of the shadows for the champions. After stumbling at Crystal Palace, Arne Slot’s side wilted in Galatasaray’s deafening cauldron, coughing up too many mistakes and falling to defeat thanks to Victor Osimhen’s penalty.
Soft as it was, this was not a game that Liverpool could confidently say they deserved victory and they now face up to back to back defeats, and for Slot, some issues to resolve.
Concerns that were whispered quietly amid a fast start in the league were all loudly evident in Istanbul. How do they bed in their new arrivals? How to get the best out of Florian Wirtz? What is the root cause of so many defensive lapses? Who are their best full backs?
To compound matters, Liverpool also lost Alisson and Hugo Ekitike to injury in the second half here. For Slot, there is much to ponder.
He made four changes, which included a rest for Alexander Isak but also surprise benching for Mohamed Salah, due to a “luxury” of options per the coach. But it offered the chance to see this team in a post-Salah world, on this type of stage, and the result was not reassuring. The change meant an experiment on the right, with Jeremie Frimpong moved up as an orthodox winger, while Dominik Szoboszlai slotted in at full back. It looked like square pegs in round holes and it proved unconvincing; the plan was jettisoned after an hour when Salah, Isak and Conor Bradley took to the field.
Galatasaray are, of course, not a bad side, winning three straight Turkish league titles and spending £65million on Osimhen. But Europe has proven a different story, though; they failed to get past Young Boys in last season’s Champions League play-offs and in their first game of this tournament, they were humbled 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt. Liverpool’s quality gap should have proven more evident.
Trips here are not known for their hospitality of course and the club who once welcomed Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United “to hell” have a reputation to uphold and they did their best to prove disruptive, pre-game, extending the borders of ‘Hell’ beyond RAMS Park to encompass Liverpool’s team hotel, where supporters laid siege in the early hours of Tuesday through a cacophony of noise and fireworks. Liverpool slept through the worst of it but woke knowing away games here are rarely straightforward. Galatasaray have only lost three of their past 19 home European matches — and they quickly learned why.
Galatasaray fans set off fireworks outside the team’s hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning before the Champions League tie between the two side
There was a tribute to Diogo Jota pre-match but there ended the niceties; every time Liverpool held possession they were hounded by brain-boiling whistles from the terraces.
Galatasaray sought to channel that energy into their press, bringing a frantic edge to the game and they unsettled Liverpool in the first half. They found joy against their makeshift right flank. Winger Baris Yilmaz was the pest. He scampered clear of the back line inside the opening minutes, only for Alisson to deny him one on one. That was a warning.
Ten minutes later another break would end with the winger winning a penalty, falling to the floor without invitation after Szoboszlai caught him with a stray arm. Osimhen thundered the kick down the middle to open the scoring.
There was a tribute for Jota, who died in the summer, before the match
PA
Just moments earlier, Ekitike should have scored himself when sent through one on one but fumbled a touch around the goalkeeper, while Cody Gakpo’s follow-up effort was then cleared off the line by Ismail Jakobs. It was frantic stuff.
Liverpool were uncomfortable, unable to find consistent control. They created some moments. Wirtz drew a good save from Ugurcan Cakir on the half-hour after a shot on the turn in the box, while Ibrahima Konaté headed a corner wide at the near post.
But Galatasaray were direct and seized on errors. Osimhen miscued a chip from 25 yards and then right on half-time he was fouled by Ryan Gravenberch on the edge of the box having picked his pocket.
Osimhen became the first Nigerian player to score ten goals in the Champions League
AP
There were no changes at the break. Ekitike had a flicked shot denied by Cakir, but the mistakes kept coming. Curtis Jones was caught but managed to spare his own blushes with a strong recovery, and then Konaté sent a woeful pass to Gravenberch that Osimhen seized upon, and should have scored one on one. Alisson injured himself with the save and had to be replaced.
On the hour came the cavalry, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak summoned as part of a triple change that ended the right flank experiment too. Isak quickly sparked to life, chasing a loose ball and had a shot saved. Ekitike then went off after stretching for the ball.
Chances were at a premium, Bradley knocked a header wide but Liverpool struggled to build momentum until the final moments. They nearly had a reprieve; a penalty was awarded after Konaté went down under a challenge. But VAR intervened, and there was no late salvation.
Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Alexis Mac Allister all started on the bench
GETTY
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson (G Mamardashvili 56); D Szoboszlai, V van Dijk, I Konaté, M Kerkez, C Jones, F Wirtz, R Gravenberch (C Bradley 62); C Gakpo (A Isak 62), H Ekitike (A Mac Allister 69), J Frimpong (M Salah 62). Booked: Gravenberch, Bradley, Jones.
Galatasaray (4-3-3): Urgurcan Cakir; W Singo, D Sanchez, Abdulkerim Bardakci, I Jakobs; M Lemina, L Torreira, I Gundogan (Gabriel Sara 75); Yunus Akgun (R Sallai 72), V Osimhen (M Icardi 72), Baris Alper Yilmaz ( Eren Elmali 85) Booked: Lemina, Abdulkerim, Bardakci, Cakir, Jakobs, Icardi.
Referee: C Turpin (Fr)