No fairytale start: Mohamed Salah held scoreless as Trabzonspor stumble in Europe

20.08.26 FT Europa League

Trabzonspor

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Ferencvaros

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Trabzonspor suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Hungarian champions Ferencvaros in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off round, despite Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah making his full debut for the club.

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Zachariassen delivers early blow at Papara Park

Salah was handed his first start in a Trabzonspor shirt following his brief substitute cameo against Kasımpaşa in the Turkish Super Lig opener.

The 34 year old winger nearly made an immediate impact, breaking through one on one down the right channel early on, only to see his goal-bound effort saved by the Ferencváros goalkeeper.

The visitors capitalized on their opportunities, taking the lead in the 17th minute when Kristoffer Zachariassen rose to meet a well-delivered cross steering a header past Trabzonspor goalkeeper André Onana to give the Hungarian side a crucial aggregate advantage.

Second-Half pressure and stoppage-time dismissal

Trabzonspor responded with sustained attacking pressure in the second half as they searched for an equalizer.

Salah remained at the heart of the hosts' offensive push, dragging a low shot inches wide of the upright and seeing a dangerous header blocked by the Ferencváros defense.

Nigerian forward Paul Onuachu also came agonizingly close to leveling the score, only for his powerful header to rattle against the crossbar.

Trabzonspor’s frustrations boiled over in stoppage time when Chibuike Nwayo received a straight red card for a reckless challenge, leaving the Turkish outfit with 10 men for the closing minutes.

Despite controlling territorial possession and generating ample scoring opportunities, Trabzonspor lacked the finishing edge required at the European knockout level.

Salah demonstrated flashes of his trademark sharpness and positioning but the collective chemistry in the final third remains a work in progress following a busy summer rebuild.

Overturning a one goal deficit away from home will require manager Abdullah Avcı to tighten defensive transitions while finding ways to maximize Salah and Onuachu's penalty-box synergy.

Trabzonspor will head to the Groupama Aréna in Budapest for the decisive second leg on Thursday 27 August.

The Black Sea Storm must overturn the 1-0 deficit on foreign soil to secure qualification for the UEFA Europa League league phase.

Khaled Hegazy |

Editorar, en

Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.

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