Mohamed Salah finally has his moment in Turkey. The Egyptian forward scored twice as Trabzonspor beat İstanbul Başakşehir 2-1 in the Süper Lig on Sunday. It was worth the three-game wait. In his first league start since leaving Liverpool this summer, Salah looked every bit like the player who terrorized Premier League defenses for eight years.
A start finally worth the wait
The opener came in the 8th minute, and it was pure predator instinct. Başakşehir goalkeeper Muhammed Sengezer fumbled a routine catch, and Salah reacted before anyone else could. He spun away from three defenders and finished from close range, according to match reports from beIN Sports and Fotmob.
Başakşehir hit back through Eldor Shomurodov, who converted a penalty in the 19th minute after the referee penalized Chibuike Nwaiwu for handball, per The National. For a stretch, Salah’s big night looked like it might end in a draw.
Then Salah answered. Early in the second half, he cut in from the right and traded passes with Ernest Muçi. He buried the return ball into the far corner to restore Trabzonspor’s lead, beIN Sports and Fotmob reported. That finish put the game away. It also delivered Trabzonspor’s first win of the season.
The hat-trick that wasn’t
Salah nearly walked away with three goals. In stoppage time, he unloaded from roughly 45 yards out with the goalkeeper stranded off his line. The shot found the net, according to Goal.com, but the linesman’s flag went up for offside and the goal came off the board.
He also picked up a yellow card with about 11 minutes left. The referee booked him for simulation after he went down in the penalty area, per Fotmob. It was that kind of night: brilliant, a little chaotic, and impossible to look away from.
Salah finished as Trabzonspor’s most involved attacker. He led the team with five shots, four of them on target, and created six chances, according to Fotmob’s match data. Not bad for a guy three games into a new league, still working his way into full match sharpness.
Three games in, and Salah is already the story
Salah signed with Trabzonspor earlier this month after leaving Liverpool, and Turkish outlets were already sold on him before he scored a single goal. Fanatik described his Kasımpaşa introduction as that of a “superstar” entering the pitch. Fotospor called his one-on-one play and ball carrying effective, adding that his energy won over the coaching staff and fans.
Sunday’s brace came in only Salah’s third appearance since his Liverpool exit this summer. He came off the bench in the 58th minute of a 1-1 draw at Kasımpaşa on his Süper Lig debut. He then started against Ferencvárosi Torna Club in the first leg of Trabzonspor’s Europa League Playoff tie.
| Match | Competition | Salah’s role |
|---|---|---|
| Kasımpaşa (1-1 draw) | Süper Lig, Matchday 1 | Substitute, on in the 58th minute |
| Ferencvárosi TC | Europa League Playoff, 1st leg | Started |
| İstanbul Başakşehir (2-1 win) | Süper Lig, Matchday 2 | Started, scored twice |
Three games in, and Süper Lig defenses already know what they are dealing with. That is based on match reports from ESPN, beIN Sports and Fotmob. Salah still found room for theater too, with a disputed dive and a disallowed screamer in the same 90 minutes.
If Sunday was any indication, Trabzonspor may have just found their man for a very fun season. Liverpool fans watched this exact version of Salah for years: sharp movement, cold finishing, and a flair for the dramatic. Now Süper Lig defenses have to figure him out, and based on one performance, that will not be easy.
