Salah nets brace as Trabzonspor beat Basaksehir 2-1

Mohamed Salah scored twice in Trabzonspor’s 2-1 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir, his first goals for the Turkish club after a two-year contract signed this summer. The 34-year-old, who left Liverpool after nine trophy-laden years, had failed to score in his first two matches. The win places Trabzonspor fourth in the Super Lig, and the team now faces a Europa League play-off second leg against Ferencvaros.

A brace to open the season

Mohamed Salah, 34, opened his Trabzonspor account with a brace in a 2-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir on Sunday. The Egyptian forward, who signed a two-year contract with the Turkish Super Lig club this summer after leaving Liverpool, had not found the net in his first two appearances - a 1-1 draw with Kasimpasa and a 1-0 defeat to Ferencvaros. Salah’s first goal came in the eighth minute. He capitalised on a mistake by Basaksehir goalkeeper Muhammed Sengezer, who could not hold onto the ball, allowing Salah to slot the ball past the keeper. In the 19th minute, Basaksehir’s Eldor Shomurodov levelled from the penalty spot. Three minutes into the second half, Salah restored Trabzonspor’s lead. He burst down the right, exchanged passes with Ernest Muci and finished with a shot into the far corner. A stoppage-time effort by Salah was chalked off for a foul in the build-up, and another long-range attempt was ruled out for offside when he found the empty net with the goalkeeper upfield for a corner.

League standing and next challenge

The victory leaves Trabzonspor fourth in the Super Lig table, level on points with Samsunspor and Galatasaray, and two points behind Genclerbirligi. The team will now turn its attention to Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg away to Ferencvaros. Trabzon must overturn a 1-0 deficit in Budapest to qualify for the Europa League group phase. A defeat would see Fatih Tekke’s side drop down to the Europa Conference League.