Salah Draws Blank as Trabzonspor Lose to Ferencváros

Mohamed Salah failed to score or assist on his first Trabzonspor start as the Turkish side lost at home in their Europa League play-off.

Kristoffer Zachariassen scored the only goal after 17 minutes at Papara Park after the Norwegian met Olivér Nagy’s cross with a header into the bottom corner.

Trabzonspor controlled possession and registered far more attempts, but their finishing let them down. The hosts had 66% possession and 24 shots to Ferencváros’ 11. However, they placed only three efforts on target.

Salah started on the right of Fatih Tekke’s 4-2-3-1 formation and played the full match, recording a team-high six attempts, but only one tested goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz. Four were blocked, and another missed the target.

His first effort came after eight minutes, when Dibusz saved his left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area.

Salah then sent an effort narrowly wide early in the second half. He also saw a close-range header blocked in the 55th minute, which counted as his only big chance missed.

The 34-year-old’s six attempts carried a combined expected goals (xG) value of 0.41.

Salah also created four chances, including one big opportunity, and completed 31 of his 38 passes. Meanwhile, only three of his 11 crosses found a teammate. He completed one of three dribbles and lost possession four times.

Despite his heavy involvement in the match, he could not provide a decisive contribution as Trabzonspor failed to score.

The hosts finished the match with 10 players after Chibuike Nwaiwu received a straight red card for violent conduct in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The 1-0 defeat leaves Trabzonspor needing to overturn the deficit in Budapest on Thursday, August 27. The winners will advance to the Europa League league phase. The losing side will enter the Conference League league phase.

This was Salah’s second Trabzonspor appearance and his home debut. He made his competitive debut as a 58th-minute substitute in Saturday’s 1-1 league draw away to Kasımpaşa.

Salah joined Trabzonspor on a free transfer earlier this month after leaving Liverpool. He signed a two-year contract following nine seasons at Anfield, where he scored 257 goals in 442 appearances.

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