Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool's defensive problems in the Champions League are "not sustainable", and the numbers back him up. A 3-2 defeat at Fenerbahce on Wednesday, in which all three home goals came from set-pieces, left the Liverpool captain angry and, by his own account, trying not to show it in front of team-mates who were already low.
Liverpool had led 2-1 in the second half in Istanbul. They flew home straight after the game and now face a difficult trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday, with fifth place in the Premier League and 15 points from nine games to protect.
What Van Dijk said
The captain was blunt about the manner of the loss. Liverpool, he said, switched off at set-pieces that they had handled well all season, and were not ready for the first and second balls. He also said the squad should not accept losing in that way, even while giving Fenerbahce credit.
There was a measured side to it too. Van Dijk pointed back to his comments after the previous defeat, against Arsenal, that a group has to go through lesser moments as well as good ones. His view is that the experience will form a bigger bond in the dressing room, and that it should help in the near future.
A European problem, not a league one
The picture is odd because Liverpool's domestic record at the back is sound. Only three top-flight sides have conceded fewer than their nine league goals this season. In Europe it is a different story. Liverpool have shipped ten goals in four Champions League games, two more than in the whole of last season's league phase and five more than in the eight games of 2024-25. Their average of 2.5 conceded per game is the worst of any of their European Cup or Champions League campaigns, according to BBC Sport's figures.
The set-piece detail is just as striking. Before Wednesday, Liverpool had conceded only one set-piece goal, penalties aside, in 14 matches in all competitions. In Istanbul they let in three in one game, something that had not happened since the Sevilla match in November 2017. Andoni Iraola called the goals cheap and messy.
Alisson in the spotlight
BBC Sport's analysis notes that goalkeeper Alisson was arguably at fault for two of the Fenerbahce goals, which adds to questions about his form. His save percentage this season is comfortably the worst of his career at Anfield. It is early enough to call it a dip rather than a decline, but the evidence is building.
Back-to-back defeats under Iraola, after a run of five wins, are a first, and the sterner tests are coming. If a side such as LASK, Villarreal or Fenerbahce can cause this much trouble, the question is what Barcelona or Bayern Munich might do in a knockout tie. Van Dijk says it is always tough at Palace and he expects nothing different. Liverpool had better bring their concentration with them.
Result context: Fenerbahce 3-2 Liverpool, Champions League, Istanbul, Wednesday 4 November 2026. Liverpool have conceded 10 goals in four Champions League games this season. Next: Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Premier League, Sunday 8 November 2026, 14:00.
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