Trabzon was given its loudest night of the season when Mohamed Salah led a sweeping response against Turkish champions Galatasaray, delivering three goals and an assist in Thomas Reis’s first match in charge.
The 34-year-old Egyptian arrived on the Black Sea this summer as Trabzonspor’s headline signing after leaving Liverpool as a club legend. His early months in Turkey had been difficult, with the club knocked out of European competition at the first opportunity and domestic results bringing a change on the bench.
Quick facts
- Mohamed Salah joined Trabzonspor this summer at the age of 34.
- Trabzonspor appointed German coach Thomas Reis this week, replacing Fatih Tekke.
- The club had already suffered an early and unexpected European exit.
- Salah scored a hat-trick and created another goal against Galatasaray.
- Galatasaray played without Victor Osimhen.
Reis’s opening assignment could scarcely have been more demanding: Galatasaray, the reigning champions, arriving without their leading name Victor Osimhen. Trabzonspor seized on that absence and used the occasion to revive their league campaign.
Salah was at the centre of everything. His three-goal display, supplemented by an assist, gave Trabzonspor the attacking authority that had been missing during the unsettled start to the season.
Galatasaray’s high-profile recruit Rafael Leao was left watching the Egyptian’s command of the evening. Salah celebrated his hat-trick by removing his shirt, echoing one of the memorable celebrations from his Liverpool years.
For Trabzonspor, the result offered more than a statement against the title holders. It gave Reis an immediate lift after succeeding Fatih Tekke and handed Salah a defining first major moment in his new Turkish chapter.
