Pristina provided the latest stop in Vedat Muriqi’s fast start to life back at Fenerbahçe. The 32-year-old Kosovo forward struck late to give his country a 1-0 Nations League victory over Ireland, rounding off a week in which his goals have carried weight in both Istanbul and on the international stage.
Muriqi headed in during the 83rd minute after reacting to a loose ball in the penalty area. The result gave Kosovo a winning beginning in League B Group 3, where Austria and Israel are also in the section.
Quick facts
- Fenerbahçe paid Mallorca €15.5 million for Muriqi during the summer window.
- The Kosovo captain scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Ireland in Pristina.
- He has six Turkish Super Lig goals after scoring four in Fenerbahçe’s 8-0 defeat of Eyupspor.
- Muriqi also scored in the 2-1 qualifying win over Olympique Lyon that helped take Fenerbahçe into the Champions League.
- He left Mallorca after scoring 23 times last season and becoming the Spanish club’s record goalscorer.
The return to Turkish football has been emphatic. Muriqi had already spent years in the country between 2014 and 2020, representing several clubs including Fenerbahçe, but his latest spell has begun with a sharper sense of occasion after the Istanbul side invested heavily to bring him back from Mallorca.
His four-goal display against Eyupspor took his league total to six. Only Trabzonspor’s Salah and Amedspor forward Gift Orban, both on seven, have scored more, while Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen sits alongside Muriqi on six.
There has also been continental consequence to his form. Fenerbahçe are playing Champions League football for the first time in 18 years, with Muriqi among the scorers in their 2-1 victory over Olympique Lyon in the second leg of the qualifying tie.
For Mallorca, his departure closed a prolific chapter: 23 goals last term took him beyond every previous scorer in the club’s history. In Turkey, and now with Kosovo, the forward known as “the Pirate” is already setting a pace that threatens to surpass that output.
