28.08.2026 10:20
After Fenerbahçe was drawn against Liverpool in the Champions League at Kadıköy, İsmail Kartal's words evaluating Galatasaray's defeat against the English team have come back into the spotlight. The moments when Kartal, pointing out Liverpool's tough and close-marking play, said 'They didn't let Galatasaray breathe' and his facial expression at that time have started to be talked about again.
One of Fenerbahce's opponents in the Champions League league stage was Liverpool. The yellow-navy team will face the English giant in Kadikoy.
After the draw was announced, Fenerbahce Technical Director Ismail Kartal's previous assessment of the Galatasaray-Liverpool match came back to the agenda.
"THEY CREATED THEIR OWN NIGHTMARE"
While evaluating Galatasaray's defeat away to Liverpool, Ismail Kartal had pointed out the mistakes the yellow-red team made against their opponent.
Kartal said, "Galatasaray's second match in Liverpool... They created their own nightmare. It ended very badly. Why? Liverpool did the opposite of what happened here there. They played tough. Here they were very soft. They discovered this."
"THEY DIDN'T LET GALATASARAY BREATHE"
Explaining Liverpool's game plan against Galatasaray, Kartal said, "What did they do? They said, 'We have to play very tough against this team here, play close, and apply these pressures everywhere,' and they did. They didn't let Galatasaray breathe there. Here Galatasaray was surprised; there Liverpool was surprised."
THAT FACIAL EXPRESSION WAS ALSO MUCH DISCUSSED
Ismail Kartal's facial expression while analyzing the Liverpool match was also widely discussed at the time. As much as Kartal's words, the image he gave in those moments attracted attention.
NOW HE WILL BE TESTED AGAINST LIVERPOOL
After the time that has passed, Liverpool will now face Ismail Kartal. The English giant, one of Fenerbahce's opponents in the Champions League, will be a guest of the yellow-navy team in Kadikoy. It has become a matter of curiosity what kind of game plan Kartal, who explained what Galatasaray did wrong against Liverpool, will now bring to the field against the same opponent.