One captain shaped this Conference League night. In Finland, on an artificial pitch that had worried the Egypt national team, Mohamed Salah created one goal, scored another, then left the field with the job handed to his team-mates. Six goals, a goal direct from a corner and a missed penalty followed.
Turkish side Trabzonspor claimed a precious away win over Finland's KuPS by a score of 4-2, in the match that brought them together today at the Tammela Stadium in the city of Tampere, as part of the UEFA Conference League competition.
First half: the captain's mark
Trabzonspor began the encounter strongly against Finland's KuPS in the UEFA Conference League, and needed only 3 minutes to announce themselves. A clever, quick pass from Mohamed Salah in behind the KuPS defence put Nigeria's Paul Onuachu one-on-one with goalkeeper Kreidl, and he finished with confidence to deliver the opening goal.
Salah kept creating, then wasted a chance to extend the lead in the 11th minute after seizing on a rebound off the Finnish defence and firing a powerful shot past the post.
Persistence paid one minute before the break. In the 44th minute, a ball rebounded off the KuPS defence and fell to Mohamed Salah inside the penalty area, and the Egyptian star did not hesitate in putting it into the net. His second goal for Trabzonspor sent them in two ahead, both goals created and scored by their captain.
A crazy second half: 3 goals and a penalty
With the start of the second half, Trabzonspor gave the hosts no room to breathe. In the 46th minute, Frankowski received the ball and struck it powerfully, it bounced off the hands of the KuPS goalkeeper, but he followed up quickly into the net to score the third goal and make it 3-0.
The Finnish response came in deceptive fashion. In the 54th minute, direct from a corner, Peiponen delivered a ball that deceived the giant goalkeeper Andre Onana and nestled in his net, reducing the deficit for KuPS to 1-3.
Salah goes off, and Onana shines
In the 55th minute, the Trabzonspor coach decided to withdraw his captain Mohamed Salah and bring on Fabinho in his place, a move with an eye on Monday's eagerly awaited clash against Besiktas in the Turkish league. Salah departed having completed his task in full.
After he went off, the scenario almost became complicated, as the referee awarded a penalty to KuPS after a handball by a Trabzonspor defender inside the area.
Piotr stepped up to take it. The giant Onana was equal to the moment, saving it brilliantly to preserve his side's 3-1 lead and to confirm that Trabzonspor's night in Finland was a night for goalkeepers and captains.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Trabzonspor settled matters completely with a fourth goal, which came after a wonderful piece of skill from substitute Muci, who beat the KuPS defender and set off down the flank before delivering a precise cross to his team-mate Frankowski, who placed it into the net with confidence.
KuPS did reduce the gap again in the 90+6th minute, after Valsiuro drove brilliantly into the heart of the Trabzonspor defence before unleashing a powerful shot that found the net of goalkeeper Onana, setting the game alight in its closing moments.
Leading results from the round
In the same round of fixtures, France's Monaco claimed an important win over Bulgaria's CSKA Sofia by a score of 2-1.
Barry Bruner opened the scoring quickly for Monaco in the third minute, before Ansu Fati extended his side's lead with a second goal in the 44th minute, while Joel Zwarts scored CSKA Sofia's only goal.
Elsewhere in the same round, a 1-1 draw settled the meeting between Denmark's Midtjylland and Egnatia.
Eldi Gruda opened the scoring for Egnatia in the 26th minute, before Cho Gue-sung equalised for Midtjylland in the 33rd minute.
Switzerland's Lugano claimed a thrilling win over Red Star Belgrade by a score of 3-2, in this round of the UEFA Conference League, in the match played on the evening of Wednesday 15 October.
Agiti Alban put Lugano ahead in the 25th minute, before Timi Elsnik equalised for Red Star in the 32nd minute, then Radi Kronic put the visitors back in front with a second goal in the 67th minute.
Lugano succeeded in coming back, with De Moncada scoring the equaliser in the 84th minute, before Anto Grgic snatched a late winner from a penalty in the 90th minute.
The meeting between Romania's Universitatea Craiova and Spain's Getafe ended in a 1-1 draw.
Assad Al Hamlawi opened the scoring for the hosts in the 59th minute, before Nemanja Gudelj equalised for Getafe in the 81st minute.
Greece's Panathinaikos beat visitors Borac Banja Luka by a score of 2-1.
Cyril Dessers opened the scoring for the hosts from a penalty in the 10th minute, before Kings Kangwa extended his side's lead with a second goal in the 70th minute, while Milos Jojic reduced the gap for Borac with a goal in the 80th minute.