Mohamed Salah marked his first starting appearance in the Turkish Süper Lig with a decisive brace to steer Trabzonspor to a 2-1 victory over İstanbul Başakşehir at Papara Park.
The 34-year-old Egyptian icon completed a marquee free-transfer move to the Black Sea club this summer after concluding a trophy-laden nine-year tenure at Liverpool, where he scored 257 goals.
Securing a two-year contract valued at £280,000 per week, Salah opted for the Turkish outfit despite strong initial interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.
Dream Starting Debut in Trabzon
Having featured off the bench against Kasımpaşa and started in Trabzonspor’s Europa League play-off clash against Ferencváros, Salah made an immediate impact in his third outing for his new team:
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Early Breakthrough (8′): Salah capitalized on a error by visiting goalkeeper Muhammed Şengezer. Intercepting the ball outside the area, his struck effort took a deflection before going in off the inside of the post.
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Visiting Equalizer (19′): İstanbul Başakşehir restored parity when Eldor Shomurodov converted from the penalty spot.
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Winning Strike (48′): Shortly after the restart, Salah completed a crisp interchange with Ernest Muçi, guiding a first-time 10-yard finish into the far corner to reinstate Trabzonspor’s lead.
Drama in the Closing Stages
The veteran attacker remained at the heart of the action as the match neared its conclusion. He received a yellow card for simulation in the 79th minute following a challenge inside the 18-yard box in a controversial decision – as the replays showed a penalty could easily have been given.
Deep into stoppage time, Salah believed he had secured a debut hat-trick after floating an ambitious 45-yard effort into an empty net with Şengezer stranded, only for the assistant referee’s flag to disallow the goal for offside.
In fact, Salah had two goals ruled out. In total he could have scored four goals and won a penalty.
Not a bad debut!
