Mohamed Salah, the former Liverpool star, made his official Trabzonspor debut on Saturday, coming off the bench in the Turkish Super Lig opener, but the visitors could only manage a 1-1 draw against Kasimpasa.
Trabzonspor took the lead in the first half through Noah Saviolo, before Kasimpasa equalized from the penalty spot in the second half via Adrian Benedyczak.
Salah, who joined Trabzonspor on a free transfer after nine seasons at Liverpool, was brought on in the 58th minute, shortly after Kasimpasa's equalizer. The Egyptian forward, deployed on the right wing, created several chances for his new side, but Trabzonspor were unable to find a winning goal.
Trabzonspor coach Fatih Tekke expressed his disappointment: "This is a sad start. We needed to win, but we didn't. Thursday is really important; we have a European match, and the opponent is much stronger than us," he said, referring to the Europa League playoff against Hungary's Ferencvaros on August 20.
Trabzonspor, seven-time Turkish champions, finished third in the Super Lig last season and won the Turkish Cup.
Earlier this month, Salah, 34, signed a two-year contract with Trabzonspor, shortly after leading Egypt to a historic round-of-16 appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Nicknamed "the Egyptian King" by fans, Salah established himself in the Premier League during his time at Liverpool, winning two league titles and a Champions League among eight major trophies at Anfield.
The striker is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and Africa's finest in recent years.
