Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan was on target as Istanbul Basaksehir played out a 2-2 draw with Besiktas during Monday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter.
The Egypt international, who joined the Grey Owls on loan from Aston Villa, put up a good shift but that could not hand his team all three points at stake.
Having found the net on three occasions in his last two league outings, Trezeguet led Emre Belozoglu’s attack at Vodafone Park – hoping to extend his impressive goalscoring form.
That aspiration became a reality as he put his team ahead as early as the 35th minute to punish the hosts, who had missed several scoring opportunities.
Benefitting from a poor clearance by defender Welinton, the Egyptian was well-positioned drilled the ball past goalkeeper Ersin Destanoglu.
In the 41st minute, Besiktas restored parity through Guven Yalcin after he was teed up by Can Bozdogan.
When it looked like both teams would be heading into the half-time break with a goal apiece, Basaksehir regained the lead. This time, it was former Italy international of Nigerian descent Stefano Okaka Chuka who thumped home a pass from Serdar Gurler.
In the keenly contested second half, Besiktas levelled matters in the 54th minute courtesy of Kenan Karaman who beat goalkeeper Volkan Babacan – after capitalising on some shambolic defending by Belozoglu’s side.
The remaining minutes produced no goals as the match ended on a no winner, no vanquished note.
Trezeguet, who now boasts four goals since his move from the Premier League, was subbed off for Turkish midfielder Salih Ucan while Burundi international Youssouf Ndayishimiye was not dressed for action.
On the other hand, Algeria international Rachid Ghezzal was on parade from start to finish with his presence causing moments of panic for the visiting team.
Thanks to this result, Istanbul Basaksehir climbed to third on the log having accrued 47 points from 28 matches, while Besiktas remain seventh with 45 points from the same number of outings.
Trezeguet would be hoping to continue his impressive goalscoring form when his team tackles Antalyaspor on March 13. Six days later, they are guests of Adana Demirspor.
Up next for Besiktas is a fierce league showdown versus Galatasaray on March 14 at the Turk Telekom Arena.