Mohamed Salah's highly anticipated Turkish Süper Lig debut for Trabzonspor was spoiled by minnows Kasımpaşa on Saturday when they held the visiting Black Sea club to a 1-1 draw in their 2026-27 season opener.
The 34-year-old Egyptian captain, who completed a high-profile free transfer to Trabzonspor on a two-year contract following nine seasons with Liverpool, entered the match as a 58th-minute substitute on the right wing shortly after Kasımpaşa had equalized.
Trabzonspor had seized the lead late in the first half when youngster Noah Saviolo finished clinically at the back post in the 43rd minute, connecting with Metehan Mimaroğlu’s cross from the left wing.
However, Kasımpaşa leveled the score in the 56th minute when Adrian Benedyczak calmly converted a penalty after Güven Yalçın was brought down in the box by Wagner Pina.
Salah created several scoring opportunities during his 32 minutes on the pitch. In the 69th minute, his dangerous free kick found Stefan Savic, whose header was tipped away by Kasımpaşa goalkeeper Andreas Gianniotis.
On the resulting play, Mustafa Eskihellaç squared the ball across the face of the goal, but Paul Onuachu was unable to apply the finishing touch.
Salah had a chance to claim a debut winner in the 70th minute when he controlled a pass inside the penalty area, only to fire his effort over the crossbar.
Six minutes later, he volleyed narrowly wide at the far post after latching onto a recycled cross from Eskihellaç.
The draw extends a frustrating trend for Trabzonspor, who have now dropped points in eight of their last 10 Süper Lig season openers played on the road.
"It's a sad start today. It was a game we had to be victorious in, but we couldn't succeed. Thursday is really important; we play a match in Europe, and the opponent is far better than us," Trabzonspor head coach Fatih Tekke said after the match.
Trabzonspor, who finished third in the Süper Lig last season and won the Turkish Cup, are scheduled to face Hungarian club Ferencvaros in the Europa League playoff round on Aug. 20.
Salah’s move to Trabzonspor ended months of transfer speculation following the earlier collapse of negotiations with rivals Beşiktaş.
The forward had announced in March that he would leave Liverpool at the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign despite having signed a contract extension at Anfield in April 2025.
Salah departed as Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer of all time, tallying 257 goals in 442 appearances while capturing two Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League trophy.
In Ankara, meanwhile, newly promoted Gençlerbirliği produced the opening weekend's biggest upset, coming from behind to defeat title contenders Fenerbahçe 2-1.
Fenerbahçe made a dominant opening push and broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Anderson Talisca converted from close range following a low cross from the left flank.
Talisca nearly doubled the lead before halftime, but his powerful header from a corner crashed against the crossbar.
Despite Fenerbahçe's early control, Gençlerbirliği equalized in the 37th minute. After winning possession in midfield, the hosts launched a swift counterattack that Franco Tongya finished with precision.
Gençlerbirliği completed the comeback in the 56th minute when Abdurrahim Dursun delivered an inviting cross from the left wing and Oğulcan Ülgün rose above the defense to head home the winning goal.
Fenerbahçe launched a sustained late assault seeking an equalizer, but Gençlerbirliği goalkeeper Irfan Can Eğribayat made critical saves to deny long-range attempts from Talisca.
Late efforts from Vedat Muriqi, Milan Skriniar and Mason Greenwood all missed the target as Gençlerbirliği’s defense held firm to claim all three points in their return to the top flight.
Elsewhere, Rizespor earned a dramatic 1-0 away victory over Konyaspor thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Qazim Laçi.
After a scoreless 90 minutes that yielded few clear opportunities, Rizespor won a penalty deep into injury time when Emrecan Bulut was brought down inside the box by a Konyaspor defender in the 93rd minute.
Laçi stepped up four minutes later and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way in the 97th minute to secure the three points for the visitors on opening weekend.
Alanyaspor and Gaziantep FK played to a 1-1 draw in their season opener.
Alanyaspor took the lead early in the second half, but Gaziantep FK drew even in the 61st minute when Deian Sorescu dispossessed an opponent in midfield, embarked on a surging run toward the penalty area, and drilled a long-range strike into the net.
Gaziantep FK pushed for a winner, but Alanyaspor goalkeeper Victor produced a late save on a curling effort from Kacper Kozlowski to ensure both teams left with a point.
