Fenerbahce interim head coach Dirk Kuyt hailed “another miracle in Istanbul” after his side twice came from behind to beat Liverpool 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Goals from Mason Greenwood, Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi claimed the Turkish side’s first Champions League win of the season and their first in any competition for four games, a feat the former Liverpool man compared to the Reds’ famous Champions League final win over AC Milan in 2005, a year before he joined the English club.
“It was a very special night, I think not only for me, but everyone who loves Fenerbahce,” said Kuyt, who took charge last week after Ismail Kartal resigned following the 2-1 defeat to rivals Galatasaray.
“We told each other to stick together, to be united. And also to keep believing in ourselves, and that is something [which] I learned from another club [that] means a lot to me, and that was Liverpool, the club we played against tonight.
“So I’m very happy with all the players, I’m very happy with all the people who were involved that we made a miracle tonight.”
Fenerbahce are sixth in the Turkish Super Lig having lost four of their opening 10 games, but Kuyt said he hoped the victory could kickstart the team’s season.
“Although we are in a very difficult situation, we have a chance to bring another miracle in Istanbul,” he said. “And if you get that miracle, things can change in a positive way.
“But the reaction needs to come from us first … If you create that atmosphere, even the best team in the world can get difficulties.
“And I think the win tonight was not an easy win, but it was not luck. I think at the end of the day, we deserved it. We create many chances. We keep pushing and we keep fighting against, in my opinion, one of the best teams in Europe.”
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Former Newcastle midfielder Emre Belözoğlu was announced as Fenerbahce’s new permanent manager on Tuesday night.
After the win over Liverpool, Kuyt added: “He wished me all the best for this game and I said to him, ‘I will make sure the team will have a good performance so you can have a good start.'”
