Salah tucked away Trabzonspor’s second in the 71st minute at Papara Park on Monday, settling the derby and lifting the Black Sea club into fourth place in the Super Lig. Franculino Dju won possession and drove into the penalty area before setting up the Egyptian, after Ozan Tufan had put the hosts in front on 21 minutes.

The strike took Salah’s league tally to eight goals and his total goal contributions to 11, both Super Lig highs after eight rounds.

‘Unstoppable’, say the Istanbul papers

A Turkish press that was openly uncertain in August has run out of doubts. In a roundup compiled by GiveMeSport, Fanatik’s post-match splash declared Salah “unstoppable” and billed him as a “world-class star.”

On Sozcu, veteran commentator Erman Toroglu, one of the louder voices on Turkish football television, questioned how goalkeeper Andre Onana had been handed man of the match ahead of the Egyptian, citing “his greatness, his footballing ability.”

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Fotospor relayed the fan verdict in blunter terms: a “gift from god.”

The Ferencvaros detour

The context that makes the praise land this hard is a European playoff nobody in Trabzon wants to revisit. Ferencvaros won the Europa League qualifying tie 5-0 on aggregate in late August, dropping the Turkish side into the Conference League for Salah’s debut European campaign at the club.

Everything since has shifted. Salah’s first Trabzonspor hat-trick came on September 19 in a 4-0 home win against defending champions Galatasaray.

Gulf News framed his seven goals and three assists in his first seven league appearances as the first time a player had reached 10 goal contributions in his opening seven games in Super Lig history.

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A city sold out

Turkish support had been loud from day one. Thousands crowded Trabzon Airport on 5 August to welcome Salah with flares, fireworks and club flags, and the unveiling at Papara Park the next day drew a reception the 34-year-old himself admitted being taken aback by.

The commercial impact has moved in step. Trabzonspor had sold 116,000 jerseys by late September, against 46,000 in the same window a year earlier, a 152 per cent jump. Season-ticket sales passed 25,000. Shops in Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili bazaar now stock the No. 10 shirt.

Fotospor put numbers behind the “gift from god” chorus from Monday’s derby: 75 per cent shot accuracy, 0.85 expected goals and a combined 0.96 xG+xA, placing Salah at the heart of Trabzonspor’s most dangerous chances.

Trabzonspor sit fourth on 16 points after Monday’s win. Besiktas dropped to fifth on 15 following the same match. Salah’s two-year contract, signed as a free agent in August, runs until June 2028.

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