Mohamed Salah opened his scoring record in Turkey in ideal fashion, netting twice to lead Trabzonspor to a 2-1 victory over Başakşehir on the second matchday of the Turkish Süper Lig.
The Liverpool legend gave his team the lead in the eighth minute, capitalizing on defensive confusion and a mistake by the Başakşehir goalkeeper before striking the ball with his left foot; it deflected off the keeper and crossed the goal line, with the referee confirming the goal following communication with VAR.
Trabzonspor’s lead did not last long; Başakşehir were awarded a penalty after the referee reviewed the monitor, which Eldor Shomurodov successfully converted to draw level in the 18th minute, ending the first half tied at 1-1.
However, the Egyptian King needed just three minutes in the second half to restore the hosts’ advantage, scoring his second goal of the match and his first winner in a Trabzonspor shirt in the 48th minute, granting his team their first victory of the new season.
Salah became the third Egyptian player to score for Trabzonspor in Süper Lig history, following Ayman Abdelaziz and Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet. He also became the first foreign player in the competition’s history to score an away brace against Başakşehir in a Trabzonspor shirt.
The Egypt captain had previously come on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Kasımpaşa on opening day, then started for the first time against Ferencváros in the first leg of the Europa League playoff, though he failed to score in the 1-0 defeat, before opening his goal account with a brace in his third appearance.
A decisive European challenge awaits Salah on Thursday, August 27, when Trabzonspor travel to face Ferencváros in the playoff second leg, aiming to overturn the first-leg defeat and qualify for the Europa League, before returning to domestic action away against Amedspor on Monday, August 31.
