Trabzonspor beat Istanbul Basaksehir 2:1 in the Super League's second round of matches at Papara Park on Saturday evening. Mohamed Salah scored twice for the hosts, though his late effort was ruled out for offside. The result keeps both sides level on points at the bottom of the table after three games each.
Match events
Salah opened the scoring in the eighth minute, and Basaksehir responded through a penalty from El Dor Shomurodov nineteen minutes in. The visitors dominated possession in the opening exchanges, but Trabzonspor held their nerve before Salah struck again in the forty-eighth minute. and here's the thing — Basaksehir pushed hard for an equaliser, and Salah had a goal disallowed in stoppage time after a VAR check for offside.
Trabzonspor made several changes in the second half, bringing on Mehmet Muci and Ali Simsir around the hour mark. Basaksehir also reshuffled, introducing Jakub Kaluzinski and Abbos Fayzullaev at the same time. The home side added Andreas Skov Olsen in the seventy-ninth minute, while Radoslaw Malinowski came on for Trabzonspor eight minutes later.
Yellow cards flowed throughout the contest. Olivier Kemen picked up a booking in the twenty-second minute, followed by Berthug Yildirim in the thirty-ninth. The match grew increasingly physical, with Cagatay Nwaiwu, Omer Ergun twice, Srdan Savic and Fatih Tekke all cautioned before the final whistle.
The statistics tell a story of control without dominance. Trabzonspor held 52 per cent of possession and created five big chances compared to two for the visitors. They registered eight shots on target against four, though their expected goals figure of 2.27 suggests they could have done better. to be fair, Basaksehir were more dangerous in transition, completing more attacks overall.
Both teams remain tied on four points after three matches, with Trabzonspor sitting eleventh and Basaksehir ninth. The hosts had lost their opening game 1:0 against Ferencváros before drawing with Kasimpasa and losing to Gotazepe. Basaksehir started with a 2:0 win over Kodjaelispor, then lost to Inter Turku and drew the second meeting.
