Liverpool face an uphill task to progress in the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat to Besiktas.
Reds face difficult task to qualify
Liverpool face an uphill task to progress past the group stages of this season's UEFA Champions League following a 2-1 defeat to Besiktas.
A second Sami Hyypia own goal in five days and a Bobo strike were enough for Besiktas to see off Liverpool, who only netted a late consolation through Steven Gerrard.
Besiktas' first came courtesy of some unlucky Liverpool defending in the 13th minute when Jamie Carragher tackled well on Bobo only to ricochet his clearance off Steve Finnan allowing Serdar Ozcan to fire towards goal from close range and his effort deflected in off Hyypia.
After the interval Liverpool dominated possession, but it was Besiktas who scored the second goal of the game when the excellent Bobo latched onto a defensive slip from Hyypia to score from a swift counter attack on 82 minutes.
Gerrard then staged a late siege on the Besiktas goal with his 84th minute header, but Liverpool remain without a win in this season's Champions League to leave qualification looking uncertain.
Honour
The Besiktas fans had pounded out their anthems for two hours before the match, stopping only for a minute of silence while a lone trumpeter honoured the Turkish soldiers killed in a terrorist attack at the weekend.
The volume was raised when Danish referee Claus Bo Larsen chose to ignore appeals for a penalty after three minutes when the ball struck Finnan's hand.
Serdar Kurtulus volleyed just over from 20 yards a minute later before Liverpool's Andrei Voronin saw a flicked effort kicked off the line by Rodrigo Tello.
But Besiktas were ahead on 13 minutes after Carragher had produced a fine saving tackle on Bobo in the box.
His attempted clearance deflected straight to Ozcan and he slammed a shot goalwards from eight yards - which hit Hyypia and wrong-footed Jose Reina.
Back foot
Dirk Kuyt put Gerrard clear in the box, only for Besiktas goalkeeper Hakan Arikan to make a one-handed save at his feet.
Liverpool kept coming forward and Ryan Babel cut in from the left 30 yards out to blaze a drive over the angle on 30 minutes.
Besiktas started the second period intent on attack and a second killer goal. They swung the ball around quickly and had Liverpool on the back foot.
Bobo almost outpaced Carragher in one surge into the box, Reina happy to mop things up as the Brazilian lost control.
The visitors were struggling but they put together a decent move in the 58th minute when Babel's cross was nodded down by Voronin for Gerrard to drill a shot inches wide of a post.
Lucky
Babel had a shot held by Arikan, before substitute Yossi Benayoun had a 'goal' disallowed - Voronin judged offside in the build-up.
Arikan saved from Gerrard but Liverpool were gambling and substitute Federico Higuain went clear only to be stopped by Reina on the edge of the box.
Benayoun tried to jink his way through a packed box before Lucas Leiva replaced Javier Mascherano 15 minutes from time.
Bobo scooped the ball over from a couple of yards out but soon after the big striker was luckier when he was sent clear and guided his shot past an exposed Reina.
Peter Crouch had been standing on the line waiting to come on as the crucial second goal was being constructed. Before the restart he was on in place of Hyypia.
Gerrard gave Liverpool hope with his goal - an 84th-minute header - but despite a rousing finish, they could not find an equaliser.
| Besiktas |
Team Statistics |
Liverpool |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
10 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
9 |
| 4 |
Corners |
11 |
| 3 |
Fouls |
8 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 73.4 |
Passing Success |
79.5 |
| 28 |
Tackles |
33 |
| 71.4 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 36.2 |
Possession |
63.8 |
| 41.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
58.8 |
|
